Chris Potter There Is A Tide LP

TAS Rated 5/5 Music, 4.5/5 Sonics in the February 2021 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

It's a year no one will forget, a year in which the global lockdown was shared by all, and yet experienced in a million different ways. For Chris Potter, a musician who has been on the road continuously since the 1990s, whose raison d'être is playing live, lockdown presented both a challenge and an opportunity. It's a tribute to his creativity, personal integrity and huge musical talent that Chris was able to take on this challenge and make something unbelievably fresh from the opportunity. Starting in May 2020, as the Black Lives Matter movement was kicking off (reflected in the track 'I Had A Dream'), Chris set out to create something alone, to express his reaction to these chaotic times.

Playing each and every instrument: piano, keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar, drums, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute, percussion, samples and of course saxophones, Chris took just six weeks to complete the whole process.

This new album uniquely features Chris playing on all instruments - it's his Lockdown album.

Various instruments float in and out of the mix before falling into tight unisons on the buoyant and engaging opening track, 'I Had a Dream.' The song features Potter channeling his inner Sonny Rollins on a potent, melodic improvisation on tenor before he summons up Shorter on a soaring soprano solo in the second half of the piece. The African-flavored 12/8 'Mother of Waters,' which has him laying down an entrancing groove on kalimba, Fender Rhodes, and juju-inspired guitar lines, serves as a launching pad for a smoking soprano solo while the angular funk of 'Rising Over You' has him ripping on soprano and tenor saxes. Other highlights include his bass clarinet and flute showcase, 'Drop Your Anchor Down,' the guitar-driven 'Beneath the Waves,' and the mellow lullaby, 'Rest Your Head.'