CHRIS POTTER

Eagle’s Point

Potter, saxophones, bass clarinet; three others Edition EDN1237 (24/96 WAV, available as CD, LP). 2024. Potter, prod.; John Davis, eng. PERFORMANCE

SONICS

Chris Potter is one of the elite tenor saxophone players in jazz. He associates with the best people. But even for him, the personnel list on his new album pops off the page. How’s this for a rhythm section: pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade.

Supergroups, which rarely spend a lot of time together, don’t always make super albums. But Potter’s sidemen are extraordinary. On “Other Plans,” his piano player establishes an encompassing atmosphere with just a few chords (and the spaces between them). When his bassist is asked to introduce the plaintive melody, he makes it sing.

As for Potter, he responds to this rarefied level of support with work of luminous inspiration and superlative technical execution. The prevailing mood of this music is reflective. But if the tempos of “Málaga Moon” and “Dream of Home” and the title track are medium, their concentrated intensity is not. Potter sounds like he pushes himself to his creative edge on every song. His solos are treatises of thematic elaboration, proclaimed in his clarion tenor saxophone tone. The only true ballad is “Aria for Anna.” Potter (on soprano saxophone) and Mehldau release their closely held passion and let it flow freely and flower as lyricism.

This excellent album succumbs to the current fashion in jazz that prioritizes original composition. Potter is a much better player than composer. His pieces are always intelligent, and some, like “Other Plans,” have nice melodies. But on Eagle’s Point, he could not see his way clear to offer even one standard. It would have been fascinating to hear these four brilliant voices engage with some songs we know. And a newly assembled band, even one this good, might benefit from the secure footing of familiar material.