The Sirens

I first encountered Chris Potter in the summer of 2001 at a makeshift gig-space in Calgary (it was Jazz Fest). He was touring Gratitude with Kevin Hays, Scott Colley, and Clarence Penn. While it was probably just another stop on the road for Potter (he certainly wasn't at the Vanguard), he and his band mates played an absolutely smoking (and very long) set. I was hooked, and immediately went out and picked up a copy of Gratitude (still one of my favourites of his). I have seen him twice since then, although I will confess that as the years passed I became something of a casual listener. I wanted to like Travelling Mercies, but the compositions simply weren't strong enough. I like Underground, but I have to be in the mood for it. (His work with Dave Holland strikes me as brilliant, but I haven't spent enough time with it to speak confidently about it.)With The Sirens, however, I believe Potter has found a perfect (literary) vessel for his restless creativity. The band is especially well-balanced (and I challenge anyone to come up with a more suitable drummer for this music; Eric Harland plays with the strength and unpredictability of Poseidon, tempered with the wisdom of Pallas Athena). It seems characteristic that Potter should have wanted two pianists for the occasion; however, he deploys them with extreme care. Nobody gets in anybody's way. Potter moves between tenor and soprano saxophones, and includes a little bass clarinet along the way. The emphasis is on the tenor, however (or at least that's how I hear it), which suggests dedication and focus.I will single out two tracks. "Kalypso" is what you would expect it to be--a calypso (and if you ask me, Potter was born to play calypsos), only it sounds a little off-kilter (like Kalypso by way of Circe, perhaps). Conversely, "Nausikaa" is ethereal, almost childlike--but of course we remember that Nausikaa is a beautiful young princess. (The Celeste is perfect for this performance. I close my eyes and I can imagine Odysseus waking up to the sounds of Nausikaa and her maids playing ball. "What am I hearing?" Odysseus asks, and of course because he is Odysseus he feels compelled to investigate....)Chris Potter has re-established his power and (endless) promise with this recording. He has come home to Ithaca, and it was well worth the wait.

I have followed Chris Potter since he first joined Dave Holland's great quintet, and was naturally blown away by his inventive and incendiary playing ... this guy has always had chops to spare! With that being said, in his own recordings as a leader, the playing has never quite lived up to expectations from seeing and hearing the brilliance of his live performances. In the past, you could hear Potter at his finest when featured on other ECM releases, e.g. Paul Motian's "Lost in a Dream", and some from the Holland quintet. With "Sirens", we finally have the real deal, and the band he has assembled is given more than ample opportunity to shine. Potter's maturity as a leader is displayed in the beauty and balance achieved on every solo throughout, and in the space he gives to his sidemen. The audacity of combining Craig Taborn and David Virelles on keyboards for a few of these numbers is another reason "Sirens" reveals strength upon strength with repeated listens. Gorgeous.

With this venture ,Potter moves into legacy territory akin to ,say Wayne Shorter. I can imagine how good this sounds in person. This is expanded connected music,ECM at its best. I hope Chris spends some time with concept because this a good start.

I don't know how he keeps getting better and better, but "The Sirens" represents another giant step and a whole new peak for Chris Potter. I agree with the other reviewer who said that this album is on a par with "A Love Supreme"--the only difference being that I will probably listen to this one even more than to Coltrane's masterpiece. The key to its greatness may be the inspiration that Potter draws from the Odyssey, which brings a level of coherence and unity to this album that takes it beyond even his great Live at the Vanguard recordings. And his writing has reached a whole new level of lyricism and assurance that just blows me away. Chris Potter, arguably the greatest jazz musician of our times, has truly come into his own.

Chris Potter has so brought us a deliciously-played, truly haunting melody that my imagination saw myself strapped to the deck of the boat hearing the siren original song. iTunes, required me to buy the entire album to get that one 8:38 Sirens song, but it was well worth it for me, since Sirens not only stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the album, but head-and-shoulders above most other instrumental music I have heard. I rarely buy music for others, but hearing Sirens convinced me to buy the CD from Amazon to send to my brother who loves listening to Jazz.

His first ECM under his own name. Yikes, it's about freaking time. Homer is an inexhaustible source of artistic inspiration, and Potter's take is suitably joyous and anguished by turns. The harmonium (capably tickled by Mr. Virelles) was an inspired choice for setting the mood. Yoiks, what a bunch of great young players: Craig Taborn, Eric Harland, Larry Grenadier (does he ever sleep? He plays on more than 50% of the records I buy).Dancing over architecture; just git it. 1600 stars.

I recently had the pleasure of seeing and hearing this trio of world-class improvisers just a few weeks after acquring this CD, and the recording accurately captures the intensity and extraordinary mastery of these three, all of whom I've seen live with other bands and have heard on previous CDs. This recording should be in the collection of anyone who admires any of these three killer players, and if you admire all three, get this CD today.

This is clearly outstanding jazz. Hadn't really heard much of Potter's work before except as a sideman. Won't try to add much to what has already been favorably described. My last 3 jazz CD purchases have been this one, Kurt Rosenwinkel's "Star of Jupiter" and Wayne Shorter's "Without A Net". It's only February but feel it'll be hard to find any better jazz releases the rest of the year.

Il disco è naturalmente ottimamente suonato, i brani non sono niente di speciale, ma veicolano bene la creatività improvvisativa di questo gruppo di grandi nomi. L'unica pecca è che il suono ECM si sposa veramente male con il carattere e le atmosfere del gruppo, che renderebbe meglio con sonorità più asciutte e grezze

Chris Potter ist vielleicht nicht so mediagen wie Joshua Redman oder Mike Brecker, aber musikalisch ist er schon viel zu lange total unterschätzt. Dieses Album ist nicht nur aufnahmetechnisch sonder vor allem inhaltlich für mich ein Meilenstein.Sein Sound ist der absolute Wahnsinn. Tief und "Breckervoll", laut und sirenig wie Jan Garbarek. Alles begleitet von höchster Präzision (Die Flageolletts sind eine Sensation). Die Restband ist stimmig, auf den Punkt.Wer Pilgrimage schon gut fand, für den ist diese Platte ein absolutes Muss.

Chris Potter ha sido durante años "la gran esperanza blanca del jazz", ahora lo ha conseguido en este su primer disco como solista en ECM y con un grupo de lujo; Craig Taborn al piano, David Virelles al piano preparado,, celeste y harmonium, Larry Granadier al bajo y el extraordinario batería Eric Garland. 78 minutos de música impecable, melódico y con una brillantez insultante. Jugando con el tema de la Odisea se puede decir que Potter ha llegado a Itaca. Potter toca el soprano, el tenor y el clarinete bajo, y todo lo hace con una técnica prodigiosa.Es el disco que todos los fans de Potter estábamos esperando, uno que lo consagrara definitivamente . Todos sus dicos son interesantes pero este es que es perfecto, totalmente perfecto. Junto con el nuevo de Wayne Shorter dos indispensables para los amantes del jazz

Put together a solid rhythm section with Grenadier on double bass and Harland behind the drums, a rich and sophisticated harmonic section with Tabor (piano) and Virelles (prepared piano, celeste, harmonium) often left free in seductive layers of improvisation, and above all Chris Potter (heard on soprano and tenor sax as well as bass clarinet), always dominating the scene with some passionate and energetic playing, presenting one after the other his original compositions (except for the last track penned by the two pianists) inspired by the reading of Homer's epic poem The Odyssey. I believe this is one of Mr. Potter most solid releases, possibly his best, to discover over and over again. Totally recommended!

Wer Chris Potter von den Ensembles mit Dave Douglas und der wunderbaren Zusammenarbeit mit Dave Holland kennt oder seine Soloarbeiten liebt, lernt hier eine Facette Chris Potter's kennen - auch keine Enttäuschung