Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard [Live]

Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard [Live]

ASIN: B00023GG4E

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Tenor saxophonist Chris Potter has been recording as a leader for a dozen years, after a rather audacious start in Red Rodney's band at the age of 20. A melodic player given to deliriously swooping runs in his improvisations--Sonny Rollins is a notable influence--Potter and his quartet stretch out on originals and three covers. From the gorgeous "Okinawa" to the relentless closer, Charles Mingus's "Boogie Stop Shuffle," the four musicians form a perfectly matched combo, playing off each other with evident glee. The live setting has energized them and given them an opportunity to fully explore these compositions, as on Potter's solo intro to the Mingus tune. What's astounding about it is that, at nearly 15 minutes, it never falls into a rut as he finds ever more layers to peer under and pull apart. --David Greenberger

Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard,Chris Potter Quartet,Sunny Side,Jazz,Pop,Post-Bop

Average customer rating:

Lift

Pleasant Surprise!

A creative and singular voice catches fire on stage!

pleasant surprise

What?

Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard
Chris Potter Quartet
Manufacturer: Sunny Side
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Underground

Gratitude

Traveling Mercies

Vertigo

Critical Mass

ASIN: B00023GG4E
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Tracks:

7.5
What You Wish
Stella By Starlight
Lift
Okinawa
Boogie Stop Shuffle Sax Intro
Boogie Stop Shuffle

Amazon.com

Tenor saxophonist Chris Potter has been recording as a leader for a dozen years, after a rather audacious start in Red Rodney's band at the age of 20. A melodic player given to deliriously swooping runs in his improvisations--Sonny Rollins is a notable influence--Potter and his quartet stretch out on originals and three covers. From the gorgeous "Okinawa" to the relentless closer, Charles Mingus's "Boogie Stop Shuffle," the four musicians form a perfectly matched combo, playing off each other with evident glee. The live setting has energized them and given them an opportunity to fully explore these compositions, as on Potter's solo intro to the Mingus tune. What's astounding about it is that, at nearly 15 minutes, it never falls into a rut as he finds ever more layers to peer under and pull apart. --David Greenberger

Customer Reviews:

Lift.......2006-08-08

I wouldnt normally take the time to write anything, but I noticed a few things in other reviews (particularly in "book and music lovers" review) that i feel need to be answered. I wonder if "book and music lover" actually listened to this albulm at all. "Mr. Potter has taken a simple bit of instrumental music and labeled it jazz" he says. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Surely, he had to be listening to a different albulm, else he would have heard the amazing tenor of Potter himself (which as a saxophonist myself i appreciate all the more), which although distinctive is certainly on the lines of Coltrane. He would have heard the rythm section: solid when in the background, progresssive in their own solos. He would have heard what is possibly the most brilliant take of the Mingus classic "boogie stop shuffle" (which is amazing all the more because it is in 13/4 time and subdivided in an oscillating time signature (if your not a musician, take my word that its complex and amazing)). I fail to see how this is "simple instrumental music at all.

He then says "Sorry, but good Jazz is loaded with improvisations, and written music is but an out line". This line is particularly aggravating. How does he not realize that except for the heads of the tunes, all of the albulm is improvised. More than hour of improvised music, none of which he managed to hear.

What angers me the most however is what he says last. "Take note Smooth Jazz. You are just a tiny bit above elevator music." Now, normally, i woould agree, i cant stand smooth jazz. But (please note this) THIS IS NOT SMOOTH JAZZ! i do not understand how this albulm could possibly be misconstrued as smooth jazz. I think that just his assertion that it is smooth jazz suggests that "book and music lover" clearly has no idea what hes talking about.

This is more closely a fine work of hard bop, perhaps best in line with the later live Coltrane work (think, say, 1964). It is of course very distinctive, but it is easy to hear the strains of coltrane in Potter's solos. The pianist (Kevin Hays) reminds me particularly, when he's playing piano proper and not the synth, of McCoy Tyner, one of the other central pillars of the Classic Coltrane quartet. I can similar things about the bassist and drummer (Scott Colley and Bill stewart, respectively) but im sure you understand my point by now.

"Lift" is a solid piece of modern Jazz, particularly since so many so called jazz musicians have turned to lesser things. For any true jazz fan, this is a must have. Chris Potter himself is certainly one of, if not right next to Coltrane, one of the best tenor players of now, or any time, and there is no better way to showcase his talent then in this brilliant live performance.

Pleasant Surprise!.......2006-06-15

I've been reading all of BOOK & MUSIC LOVER's posted reviews of various Jazz CDs .... interesting how much he/she despises any form of modern, Smooth Jazz as opposed to his/her worship of "pure" Jazz, even resorting to calling our genre of choice petty names. No wonder the vast majority of the responses to his/her reviews are so unfavorable! Why don't you just review the CDs without any of your patronizing? We get it already .... you don't like Smooth Jazz!

Regarding the Chris Potter Quartet's Lift CD, I purchased it just to see what motivated the above reviewer's consternation ... and I loved it! I don't think that I would have ever found these artists, since I don't possess anything else from them, were it not for my little "crusade". If you don't like Smooth Jazz, then this CD is not for you .... if you do, and you're especially drawn to the unique sounds of live Smooth Jazz, then give this CD a listen. I'll bet you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was!

A creative and singular voice catches fire on stage!.......2006-03-19

The thing I love about Chris Potter (and his sometimes employer Dave Douglas) is that he tries to do distinctly different things with each album.

"Gratitude" was a tribute to the many saxophone influences who left their mark in developing Potter's distinctive sound and compositional style. It was a fantastic record that managed to capture the style of this enormously diverse collection of players (Webster, Bird, Brecker, Shorter, Joe Henderson, Ornette...even the often overlooked Eddie Harris!) and still maintained a singular voice which was unmistakably Potter's.

"Travelling Mercies" put a greater emphasis on Potter as a composer and a multi-instrumentalist, but also displayed his desire to explore the possibilities of the studio. Many tracks featured obvious (but not at all out of place) overdubs and loops, and bled into one another. Although the end result was a little uneven, it is still a fascinating record that stands up to repeat listenings. Also worth mentioning is the piano/bass clarinet rendition of the traditional hymn "Just As I Am" (erroneously credited to Willie Nelson???) which closes out the album...I mention this track in particular for its elegant simplicity, and its deeply subtle soul.

This brings me (in a very roundabout way) to "Lift" which is curious in that it is a live album which falls somewhere between his previous two studio albums. Kevin Hays' sometimes unusual, but always tasteful keyboard sounds almost make this "traditional jazz" quartet sound heavily produced at times. And the eternally creative, yet still air-tight interplay of the rhythm section would make you swear you were listening to a studio recording if you weren't holding that CD booklet in your hand that screams in bold capital letters; "LIVE"! Meanwhile, Potter's playing is acrobatic and impressive, but never in a way that is outwardly flashy or undermines the compositions or the overall effect of the ensemble...his playing here is the perfect marriage of technique and soul.

While the very dry mixing does take a slight period of adjustment, it eventually makes you feel like you are in the club with the group; and the playing is incendiary and spontaneous from the first note to the last. This quartet clearly has chemistry oozing from every hair follicle, and the set captured here is an engaging mix of distinctive, well-crafted originals and standards, that culminates in an explosive "Boogie Stop Shuffle" which simply must be heard to be believed!

"Lift" is a must-own for any fan of proficient and creative modern-jazz.

pleasant surprise.......2006-03-14

I've come across Chris Potter by chance,following Dave Holland recordings,and knowing nothing of the artist until the past few days,when I received my CDs,ordered in November(!). Unfortunately it takes sometime to get things by mail over here, in Kuwait, where I live, but it has been worth the wait!
The drumming and bass(7.5) remind me of a powerful recording of "Impressions",of McCoy Tyner memory(Trident was the vinyl),with Elvin Jones and Ron Carter to complete the trio. Potter's quartet,though playing with the same vigour, has different touches: piano wizard Hays plays like old time virtuoso Oscar Peterson and Potter like 1/3 Coltrane + 1/3 of Joshua Redman + 1/3 Brandford Marsalys(and what a nice cocktail!). All in all this album was a really wonderful surprise,for someone like myself that knew nothing about Potter. And music with the 3Bs:Beautiful,Beautiful, Beautiful. I love fast pace swing,and this album has plenty of it,but not only.
PS: THE RATING WAS SUPPOSED TO SHOW 5 stars,NOT 2(?).My mouse must have slipped at the wrong moment.

What?.......2006-02-14

To rebuttle the supposed "Book and Music Lover" in another review...

If someone is looking for Mingus in this music, they are in absolutely the wrong place. Just because Potter plays "Boogie Stop Shuffle" doesn't mean the track or the CD will have Mingus's influence. Quite frankly, Mingus's style is one-of-a-kind and easily distinguishable from others, and Potter's is not even close... and that isn't a bad thing.

Secondly, what is this "simple bit of instrumental music?" The technique and abilities by each musician individually and as a whole unit are showcased in this album and are anything but "simple." And, when asked where the emotion is in the album, how can one NOT feel the energy of this band? From the very beginning of the heads I can feel a surge of emotion through everyone, and that's before all of the improvisation. Check out each player's interaction with one another and you will easily feel the intensity.

Furthermore, the reviewer comments that "good jazz is loaded with improvisations and the music is but an outline" and he fails to hear it in this album. Is that a joke? Does the reviewer believe that the tracks are simply written out? The composed parts of this album are but a small percentage of the overall performance and this reviewer is a fool for believing that there is no emotion, barely any improvisation, and mostly, that this in not good jazz. Chris Potter IS the future of jazz music, as shown each time he releases a new record as a band leader, and also each time he is a sideman.

This record is simply unbelievable. Purchase this for Potter in a live, more traditional setting, and then go out and purchase his latest CD "Underground" or the one previous to this, "Traveling Mercies" to see what else he is a about. All of his albums are distinctly different, but all have amazing playing and shed light to the future of the greatest, most diverse music on the planet.

Average customer rating:

Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard
Chris Potter Quartet
Manufacturer: Universal
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002CHOM8
Release Date: 2004-08-09

Tracks:

7.5
What You Wish
Stella by Starlight
Lift
Okinawa
Boogie Stop Shuffle Sax Intro
Boogie Stop Shuffle

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music