{"id":1005116,"date":"2026-06-04T15:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1005116\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T15:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:35:13","slug":"saxophone-summit-camden-new-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1005116\/","title":{"rendered":"Saxophone summit | Camden New Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Potter [Robert Ifarelli]<\/strong><\/p>\n

IN the week that we lost Sonny Rollins, that titan of the tenor, I went down to Ronnie Scott\u2019s to catch one of his acolytes, Chris Potter, who has said that he learnt his approach to rhythm, phrasing and storytelling from studying Rollins.<\/p>\n

This was a Downstairs gig for once, in the room that, much as I admire and enjoy the new Upstairs, still retains the lion\u2019s share of Ronnie\u2019s magic.<\/p>\n

Potter acknowledged the passing of the saxophone colossus by announcing: \u201cLong Live Sonny Rollins\u201d to whoops and cheers from the sell-out crowd (which included a smattering of fellow sax players, including Bowie\u2019s late career horn man of choice, Donny McCaslin, at the bar).<\/p>\n

Soweto Kinch recently called one track of Potter\u2019s he played on his Round Midnight Radio 3 show a \u201cmessage from the summit of Mount Saxophone\u201d. In a stripped-down trio setting (Matt Brewer on bass, Kendrick Scott on drums, both afforded plenty of space to shine), it certainly felt like we were at peak sax: Potter was on blistering, questing and yet playful form.<\/p>\n

The sound was warm and textured, the technique mind-blowing, the soundscape switched around by Potter using the bass clarinet and even the piano.<\/p>\n

Given how Potter paced his solos, building narrative, sometimes unaccompanied, hinting at classic tunes, the spirit of Rollins was definitely in the room.<\/p>\n

Potter has a bold new album out, Alive With Ghosts Today on Edition records, a piece inspired by the legendary abolitionist John Brown, whose body famously lay a-mouldering after he was hanged.<\/p>\n

Unlike many such concept records, it is neither portentous or over-sombre, although, unlike the live trio I saw, it is an ensemble piece, featuring really exemplary work from guitarist Bill Frisell (plus deft contributions from clarinet, trombone and violin) as well as agile excursions and deep, groove-heavy blues from the leader.<\/p>\n

Give Alive with Ghosts Today and the earlier Got the Keys to the Kingdom: Live at the Village Vanguard a listen: together they will elevate Potter to one of your favourite sax men.<\/p>\n

As is sometimes the way with jazz, there wasn\u2019t much from the new record \u2013 Potter announced the trio would mainly playing new material for a planned studio session. Can you imagine a rock or pop band saying that? He did, however, essay my favourite track from the album, the pleasingly polyrhythmic Into Africa. It was, of course, a different beast without the bigger band, but still exhilarating.<\/p>\n

And then, for the final number, a sprightly tune called Huckleberry, the aforementioned Donny McCaslin (who has his own hard-hitting Edition record, Lullaby for the Lost) came on stage, horn in hand, and, with his more angular, abrasive sound, thrillingly transported us to an old-school Lower East Side blowing session.<\/p>\n

Potter responded with bravura runs, peppered with swoops, flurries and squeaks, all without losing his signature warmth and strangle-hold on melody.<\/p>\n

They ended up trading sharp, punchy phrases, a cutting contest with no blood drawn, just big grins. It was sublime, spontaneous jazz at its best.<\/p>\n

Potter, incidentally, is returning to Ronnie\u2019s with multi-Grammy winning-pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and a killer rhythm section of Larry Grenadier on bass and Eric Harland on drums on July 18 (www.ronniescotts.co.uk\/find-a-show\/first-meeting). I\u2019ll be there for that, too.<\/p>\n

Another favourite sax player of mine, the lyrical Jean Toussaint (Grammy award winner and ex-member of Art Blakey\u2019 Jazz Messengers) features in an ambitious project at Kings Place that explores the consequences of the black diaspora created by slavery, albeit one closer to home: the legacy of the Windrush Generation.<\/p>\n

Windrush Day is June 22 and three days later north Londoner an Ivor Novello-award winner Renell Shaw (of Rudimental, Emeli Sande\u0301 and much, much more, including multiple theatre credits) will present his two ambitious, multi-faceted albums, The Windrush Suite and Echo In The Bones. We are promised \u201cmore than a concert\u201d, something closer to a \u201csensory experience\u201d involving jazz, rap, spoken word and hip-hop.<\/p>\n

If the A-list talent on stage is anything to go by \u2013 Ayanna Witter-Johnson on cello, Orphy Robinson on vibes, trombonist Nathaniel Cross (tuba star Theon\u2019s brother), swing-out-sister Romana Campbell on drums plus Toussaint \u2013 it should be quite the event.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be reporting back on it and the projected third volume of the piece due later this year. Meanwhile, get tickets here: www.kingsplace.co.uk\/whats-on\/jazz\/renell-shaw-the-windrush-suite-echo-in-the-bones\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chris Potter [Robert Ifarelli] IN the week that we lost Sonny Rollins, that titan of the tenor, I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1005117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,22887,257,134376,18394,18395,16,15,18396],"class_list":["post-1005116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-jazz","tag-london","tag-rob-ryan","tag-the-camden-new-journal","tag-the-islington-tribune","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-west-end-extra"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116692577638014709","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1005116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1005117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1005116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1005116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1005116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}