Far Flung Folk, WRIU, April 24, 2024

MADE A TITLING MISTAKE ON AIR, AND SAID CHARLEY CROCKETT’S ALBUM WAS CALLED ‘SOLITARY ROAD.’ THAT AIN’T TRUE. SEE ABOVE (album is out today, btw). APOLOGIES. OTHERWISE YOU WILL HEAR…Brothers Ivan, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Alexis Zoumbas, the Beatles, Leyla McCalla, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Lee Hazelwood, Judy Henske, Valerie June, Terry Adams, Tuvan throat singers, Pat Mitchell, Ali Khattab, Davey Graham, Cass McCombs, Silly Sisters, Segundo Castro, Ricky Skaggs, and a segment dedicated to the music of Michael Hurley, who’s currently wrapping up his first East Coast tour in six years. and lots more…

Singing and Playing With She and Them

updated classic coming down the pike

60 Years of the First Stones Album

A Walk In The Park

Thank You, Michael Cuscuna

DownBeat

WRTI

Ashley Kahn

Gio

Here Comes Terry

Thank You, Dickey Betts

R.I.P.

Chris Potter ‘Eagle’s Point’ (Edition)

Take a spin through John Patitucci’s Live in Italy, and you’ll know that a chunk of the intra-band chemistry found on Eagle’s Point has been percolating for a while. Chris Potter and drummer Brian Blade raise lots of sand on the bassist’s 2022 trio outing (as well as previous projects), with the saxophonist’s blend of imagination and authority boosting the music’s impact. All three reunite on Potter’s latest, which trades Italy’s fierce elation for an eloquence that courts a prudent vibe even during its combustive moments.

Lots of column inches have been devoted to descriptions of the reed player’s technique. He’s an improviser whose instrument has little problem rendering the most acrobatic gambits. But it’s not just daring that marks Potter’s work. Even his more ardent moments are built on the kind of poise that defines this new album. Whether his soprano is hunting for heartfelt phrases on “Aria For Anna” or his tenor is milking the poetic forays of pianist Brad Mehldau on “Other Plans,” each chosen trajectory is tactful. 

The sober and spirited find common ground on “Indigo Ildikó,” which begins with a reflective bass clarinet dispatch, and ultimately yields a tenor flight of fancy. Along the way, Patitucci juices some of that chemistry mentioned above; he and Mehldau deftly calibrate each mood shift. Even the album’s splashiest performances clock a measured approach – though the group is flying high at several points, you always feel its grip on terra firma. By the time Potter is bouncing off Blade’s frisky moves in “Horizon Dance,” each of his outbursts feels like an architectural preference.

DownBeat

Edition Records

Chris Potter

Thank You, Faith Ringgold

R.I.P.

Labyrinths For Sale, Labyrinths For Sale!