Chris Potter - tenor sax Rhythm Section - SDSU Jazz Big Band Filmed and Edited by Portraits of Music, Nonprofit 501c3 Follow Portraits of Music: linktr.ee/PortraitsofMusic April 14, 2022
Ish brah, that feelin’…😂 You start thinking about a particular line you can just use to kick in with that same energy the player before you set, and just build something along the way after
I actually know and am good friends with "that guy" - his name's Dylan Soto and he runs a jazz jam in Vista, CA at the Aztec Brewing Company every 1st and 3rd Sunday with his group, the "Soto Six". He's KILLER.
@@alexisgoodfellow2195 You Americans abuse the language and music so much, that your exaggerations and superlatives mean nothing. So when you say "he is a killer", it really means he is able to play scales and here and there produce a decent sound on an instrument.
I first saw Chris 29 years ago in a three- piece sax section with Bob Sheppard and Cornelius Bumpus, with Steely Dan. I don't know how old he was back then, but he looked really young. If he was good enough for Becker and Fagan, he's good enough for me.
I once saw Cornelius Bumpus playing at 9:30am in the subway interchange at 96th st and Broadway. He played round midnight with 3-part voice leading. It made a big impression on me. I would have listened fir more than 5 minutes, but I needed to get to my job. That’s life in NYC.
Trolling? If you are serious then you do not understand what melody means. Melody in improvisation is best demonstrated through varied and unpredictable yet developed phrasing without repetition. Add in theme to and variation to satisfy the magic of expressing an idea. The "non-melodic" portions are in fact superb mastery of melody in both execution, range, dynamic, timing, and variation. Types of interval relationships are demonstrated including octaves, Minor thirds, major Thirds. He plays modulations, chromatic climaxes, and sequences all with connected transitions and contrast. He never overplays for the sake of intensity and he continually says something in-between spaces. This is an example of phenomenal melodic knowledge and yes: creativity. At this level, the experience and work are so vast that it is routine. To express passion afterwards would be very personal and reveal that deviation from his intention and imagination were minimal, that he did not play anything other than what he intended. Such a feat would be very personally satisfying . . . Instead he is merely happy to share his gift without ego or audacity. What's happening is he is navigating his melodic inspirations. It is highly likely he executed what he imagined many times . . . But in his own mind it was far from perfect or "executed". In terms of composition. Of course, he is respnding to his own play and pre-hearing where the melody should go whilst incorporating less common yet intriguing harmonic relationships, outlined multiple times. This my friend is mastery. This is what I dreamed of . . . Alas, Chris has always been a genius. I still dream of it . . . But memory and time to do it are huge requirements. I have tasted what it feels like to play this way . . . But despite modesty or calm energy afterwards . . . He truly did "execute" spontaneous melodic composition while avoiding cliche and undirected intellectual indulgence. Between breaths there is deliberate intention and purposeful phrasing. So . . . This is anything but non-melodic. And yes . . . We are always practicing. Like a Doctor . . . They perform surgery. We perform spontaneous composition using the words and vocabulary we have acquired to form unique poetry lines . . . Making them worth reading is the ultimate challenge.
@@nicholassverdloff2566 I mean passion in communicating an emotional and artistic idea to the listener. When I hear Chris Potter I hear someone who is obviously quite passionate about the saxophone and exploring various musical patterns and his command of the sax is impressive. But I never hear anything beautiful or sensuous or soulful or warm. I do hear a guy who is obviously very driven and disciplined. and that is interesting but only in small doses, which is how I feel about calculus too. To each his own. People like different things and feel different things from them. I've tried listening to him a fair amount and have seen him play live before and he's kind of boring to me, but I'm guessing not to you.
“To each his own” Exactly. A person can’t elicit emotion in another person; it’s always a choice to feel an emotion. No player can make a listener hear “soul” or “beauty” in their playing, that is the emotional choice of the listener. And even if a player were to try to elicit these emotions, they would surely fail in the ears of many who just don’t connect with them. And even further to that; would trying to play with soul and emotion be contrived? Would that intent be insincere if it’s not pure and natural? I don’t know… but I think most people at the highest levels of artistic expression are playing with a deep level of soul and emotion. Sincerity is key here. If Potter is playing with sincerity then he is playing with “soul” and “beauty” in his own concept. So how would you teach someone to play with soul and beauty for the listener? How would you define it?
@@nubopgritty634 Holy hell, come off it. Talk about pretentious drivel. You're fully within your right to dislike Chris as an artist, he's not exactly in my Mount Rushmore either, but his playing is brimming with palpable fervor and sincerity and to claim otherwise is just moronic.
@@jro1472 Chris Potter is the hero of jazz college dudes worldwide ... so keep enjoying his extreme competence, keep basking in his brimming palpable fervor and be relieved that you are not a moron! Oh Chris , I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy.....
Chris has practiced everything and a lot more than you could imagine to a level of proficiency you could hardly imagine so he plays what comes to him with no intention of entertaining or pleasing anyone, He hopes you like it but he doesn,t condescend. In the studio when you have to play whatever the producer likes or can hum you do your job but that,s not creative for most jazz musicians. Sorry for diatribe. Best wishes to all- nothing wrong with melody.
the crackling sound of a snare drum, like a shot from a Kalashnikov machine gun. Why not make it softer and in balance with the whole world. How balanced percussion instruments sound from professional masters such as Steve Gadd and others. These jazz performers are fed up with the rock sound of their drums. In short, you are already annoying with your cracking sounds. It’s like hitting a table with a sledgehammer. Exactly the same sound
