THE GIG

Walking Lightly

John Rogers/ECM Records

Playlist, April 21

Craig Taborn Trio, J.D. Allen, Eric Church, Anna Webber, Junip

Heroes' Journeys

 

Robert Yager for The New York Times

About a dozen years ago, Chris Potter released an album called Gratitude on Verve. Its premise was simple: youngish turk pays homage to his formative saxophone influences, track by track. "Eurydice," track 5, bore a dedication to Wayne Shorter. The sincerity of that gesture was entirely clear. 

I'm bringing this up because of the convergence of a few things. I had a rather long Wayne Shorter piece in Arts & Leisure over the weekend; today marks the release of his new quartet album, Without a Net. Chris Potter also happens to have an excellent new album out, The Sirens, which we recently discussed: the Times has posted an edit of our conversation, centered on the album's literary inspiration. 

 And as you may have heard, the jazz internet has been all astir these last few days over a small feat of would-be iconoclasm, involving Shorter, an impulsive young musician and a vulgarity of Anglo-Saxon origin. (I'm not trying to be coy; I really don't know much more than that. The contretemps unfolded on Facebook, among musicians, and I still maintain blanket restrictions over whom I "friend." I'm working by secondhand hearsay.)

During my interview with Potter, I asked him about the millennial Shorter Quartet, which I thought may have had some influence on his current acoustic band. He shared his deep admiration, and to some extent his puzzlement — "I've seen the sheet music, but what you hear them actually doing is often pretty far afield from that" — and we moved on to other things. "Wayne is clearly no stranger to that idea of mythic space," he mused, alluding to matters of Homeric import.

Point being: you don't get to heroic stature as a jazz musician without establishing a genuine connection to your forbears. "Connection" may or may not connote influence; it certainly doesn't connote ignorance. Look at who's playing with Potter at the Village Vanguard this week — pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Larry Grenadier, drummer Eric Harland — and you'll see three musicians with enormous knowledge of, and respect for, myriad strains of the tradition. It's not a hindrance.

To that end, I wanted to post two audio excerpts of my interview with Potter, aimed at the ear of the young jazz musician. To me these were fascinating exchanges, though a bit too "inside" for the general readership I wanted to reach in the Times.  The first clip revolves around Potter's remembrance of Paul Motian, the master drummer and composer, and one of his earliest mentors on the bandstand. I don't recall ever reading Potter on this subject, which is obviously dear to his heart.

Chris Potter on Paul Motian

And the second clip, which picks up a thread in the first, has to do with Potter's conception of "technique," which I'm putting pointedly in quotes. 

Chris Potter on Technique

I'm hoping these comments inspire some folks out there, and perhaps humble some others. In the meanwhile, there's a lot of music to be absorbed, even if you wanted to restrict yourself to Shorter and Potter within the first six weeks of this year. Maybe at some point I'll post some audio of Shorter, too. You can get a little taste in last week's NYT Popcast, which also has a lively back-and-forth between Ben Ratliff and me.

Notes From Brooklyn, Chicago and the Web

Playlist, Sept. 30

Tift Merritt, Rangda, Michael Formanek, Joshua Abrams, Randy Newman

Post-Bop Punch Lines

My latest JazzTimes column to reach the internets is "Live at the Village Improv," an extended riff on jazz, standup comedy and why Louis C.K. should be working at the Vanguard. Go ahead, read it.

And should you be reading this with no context for C.K., point yourself toward one of his brilliant standup specials, and start watching his show on FX. Here's a scene from the show, which will give you some idea of its off-kilter vibe. Bonus points for the jazz score, which I allude to in the column. (But note that despite the headline tag, it doesn't air on Tuesdays at 11pm anymore, at least not in the NY area.)

Another (Live) Top 10

Pop and Jazz Concert Highs of 2011

(With Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica and Ben Ratliff)

Kind Folk

Jennifer Taylor for The New York Times

Kenny Wheeler Quintet

Jazz Standard, Oct. 23

The Piano, at Night, with You

 

Lonely Voyage of Player, Piano and Audience

Arts & Leisure, July 3

(More on this topic here next week)

Last Songs

Angela Jimenez for the New York Times

Tomasz Stanko Quartet featuring Chris Potter

Jazz Standard, Jan. 13

Advanced Studies

 File under: self-promotion, duologue, pianism. This weekend I will be in Princeton, N.J. for a pair of concerts featuring Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn. The two pianists, former section-mates in the superb new-music ensemble Roscoe Mitchell’s Note Factory, will perform back-to-back solo sets, followed by new works for duo piano. To quote from the program notes: “Both pianists share an enthusiasm for structural rigor and rhythmic precision, but also maintain a more gestural, interpretive and intuitive approach to improvisation.”

 The event(s) comes courtesy of the Institute for Advanced Study, a center for theoretical research with a distinguished history. (Einstein is among the more prominent former faculty.) Iyer and Taborn are appearing at the invitation of composer Derek Bermel, the Institute’s current Artist-in-Residence. My contribution will be a post-concert conversation on Friday and a pre-concert talk on Saturday.

Tickets are free, but way gone. (I’m told that the waiting list is substantial.) No word on whether this collaboration will yield a future spate of bookings, but as precedent has taught us, it could happen.