2022 · Album
Tourmaline
Recorded Details unverified — omitted to avoid error · Edition Records · Produced by Unverified — omitted to avoid error
Potter Goes Deep, No Safety Net
This is Potter being Potter — restless, technically ferocious, and genuinely hard to pin down.
Chris Potter has spent decades being the saxophonist that other saxophonists talk about in slightly awed tones. His technique is almost unfairly good, but what keeps his records interesting is that he doesn't just show it off — he tends to use it in service of ideas that are actually worth pursuing. Tourmaline fits that pattern. It's a record that rewards patience. The opening tracks establish a kind of probing intensity that doesn't let up, and Potter's tenor work here is muscular without being showy. There's a logic to how the pieces develop that feels compositional rather than improvisational, even when it clearly isn't.
What makes this one worth your time specifically, rather than just pulling out Underground (2006) or one of his other well-regarded outings, is the tonal variety. Potter moves between moods without it feeling like a sampler. The rhythm section gives him room to stretch without disappearing into the background, and the interplay on the slower pieces is genuinely interesting to follow.
If you're new to Potter, this probably isn't the first record to hand someone. It assumes some familiarity with post-bop vocabulary and doesn't hold your hand through the stranger passages. But if you already know you like where he goes, Tourmaline is a satisfying place to spend time. It's a serious record made by someone who takes the music seriously, and that's not nothing.
