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Saturday night I caught an impromptu group at the Jazz Gallery featuring Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Ben Street and Johnathan Blake. David Virelles was scheduled to perform with his group, but one of the members of the ensemble was unable to make it, his show was therefore cancelled and this group was the replacement act. Virelles did sit in on two songs at the end. When I received the email Friday announceing the schedule change, I knew this was one of those "events" that I should make the effort to take the 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive from West Hartford into Manhattan. The SRO audience, which included many musicians and music students as well as obsessed fans like myself confirmed my thought.


It was one of the best sets I have heard in a while. To my knowledge, these four musicians had never performed publicly as a group. Indeed at times their interaction on stage suggested some uncertainty about what to do next. I suspect the buzz that resulted in the large audience was because of the presence of Potter and Turner on the same stage. The two are considered to be amongst the top saxophonists of their generation. The differences between the two approaches are readily noticeable and I think they motivated each other to come with their A games. Every time I hear Street, I like him more. Good tone, nice ideas and very interactive/supportive of the soloists. I have also heard Blake a few times live. In some ways he functioned as the de facto leader - or at least he made all the announcements from the stage. A nice varied set list included Benny Golson's "Whisper Not", Monk's "Light Blue" (trio performance featuring Virelles), another standard that I can not remember and original compositions by Avishai Cohen, Paul Motian and Tom Harrell.


It was so good that I would have stayed for the second show, which would have meant I would not have gotten back to West Hartford until around 3:00 a.m. This was one of those occassions, however, that the Jazz Gallery actually turned over the room because the second set was sold out. A little disappointing, but as I texted my wife before I got on the road to drive home, it is probably always best to leave wanting more.

Sounds like a memorable evening. I noticed you flagged this concert on Facebook on the night and wished I was there.

It wasn't the first time the two saxophonists shared a stage. A couple of years ago there was a saxophone quartet that did a few concerts, one of which I saw in Paris--it had Potter, Turner, Chris Cheek and Joshua Redman. Redman was apparently the organizer of the group. It was a very interesting concert and Potter was the savviest player, the one who was able to take off and generate some real exciting moments. I think I recall that they were planning on recording, but if they did they're keeping it in reserve.

I vaguely recall reading about that saxophone quartet. Interesting that you would mention Potter's ability to generate some exciting moments. Compared to Turner, I would certainly agree that Saturday night Potter served that role, but I think Turner's somewhat more calculated approach was the perfect foil.

I'm probably a bigger fan of Turner than of Potter, whose constant virtuosity sometimes wears me out. But when I saw him with his own quartet last year--David Virelles, Joe Martin, and Gerald Cleaver--I was convinced. There's a level of instrumental virtuosity, the sheer chops and the ability to create freely with them, where you are drawn in by the sheer drama of mastery. It can be thrilling. But as a steady diet, exhausting. Turner's comparatively more cerebral and calmer approach is less emotionally immediate, but that relative distance is also a good place for the listener to be to appreciate his subtleties.

Thanks for the review, Ronald. Sounds like an evening well-spent. Pretty impressive that this group of musicians were not the original bill, yet delivered the goods for two solid sets. I would imagine they appeared on rather short notice. I think that having other musicians and music students in the audience likely added another dimension to the output, too.

Tom Storer wrote:I'm probably a bigger fan of Turner than of Potter, whose constant virtuosity sometimes wears me out. But when I saw him with his own quartet last year--David Virelles, Joe Martin, and Gerald Cleaver--I was convinced. There's a level of instrumental virtuosity, the sheer chops and the ability to create freely with them, where you are drawn in by the sheer drama of mastery. It can be thrilling. But as a steady diet, exhausting. Turner's comparatively more cerebral and calmer approach is less emotionally immediate, but that relative distance is also a good place for the listener to be to appreciate his subtleties.

Well said and exactly the way I feel.

turner and potter!!!! wow!!!!

gonzo wrote:turner and potter!!!! wow!!!!

That's an accurate analysis, IMHO!