Reviewed by Greg Cielec
Chris Potter has been a major player on the modern jazz scene since the late ’80s, when he was an 18-year-old prodigy playing in bebop bands. Since that time he has done it all, playing on Steely Dan releases; backing Dave Holland on the 2002 Grammy winner What Goes Around; and performing with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, and John Scofield.
The Sirens is his first CD release leading his own ensemble, with Craig Taborn on piano; David Virelles on piano, celeste, and harmonium; Larry Grenadier on bass; and Eric Harland on drums. All talented and respected players. Potter got the idea for the music from going back and rereading a classic. “I’d re-read The Odyssey after many years and was inspired to write music with that epic, mythic mood in mind.”
And just like The Odyssey, the CD is filled with music that ranges over a variety of emotions and moods. Some of it sounds like a soundtrack to a ’50s detective movie, at other times it sounds as romantic as jazz can be. All nine cuts on the CD feature Potter’s distinctive sax sound, smooth with a touch of bop to it at times, and he gives enough room for the members of the band all to shine too. You don’t have to be a fan of ancient mythology to enjoy the album.
Chris Potter will be playing selections from The Sirens, as well as from all aspects of his career, this Sat 2/23 at the Lakeland Jazz Festival. This years festival also features Cleveland’s own Jamey Haddad and his Trio on Friday night, and the Lakeland Community College and Cleveland State University Jazz Bands on Sunday.
Greg Cielec is a local writer who covers mostly music and sports for a variety of publications and websites. He is also a full time English and creative writing teacher at Streetsboro High School; an adjunct professor at BGSU Firelands College and Lakeland Community College; and a football coach at John Carroll University. He has published two books of fiction, My Cleveland Story (1998) and Home and Away Games (2006), and the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Michael Heaton has called him “the Mark Twain of Cleveland.” Check out his website and blog at http://www.GregCielec.com.
Lakeland Community College, Kirtland, OH 44094