CD Review: Chris Potter Underground - Follow the Red Line (Live at the Village Vanguard)

REVIEW

Chris Potter - Follow the Red Line (Live at the Village Vanguard)



First Impression

      On the same day, multi-reed instrumentalist Chris Potter released two albums with two absolutely different faces. This one, his second live release at the Village Vanguard, is with his Underground band with whom he recorded last year's stellar release, less Wayne Krantz on the guitar. Follow the Red Line expands upon this group's repertory and showcases why Potter has again decided to release an album at the legendary club after only three years.
      The first track, "Train", kicks the album off by really defining the group and what each member has to offer. Listening to just the beginning of the song, it sounds like something that's not totally something inherent of the band's energy if you haven't heard them play some of their other songs live before, but it still has that familiar sound and feel to it, particularly with the rhythm section's distinct sound. Shortly after a minute though, it starts to really sound like Underground band that listeners will know from the last album: Nate Smith locks in a heavy groove and Potter comes in with a simple, but heavy melodic overlay.
      The solos on the first track are everything that we expect and don't expect from these players at the same time. Potter shows off his amazing virtuosity at critical moments in his solo, but there's something that this track really brings out in his playing as well: his ability to play beautiful, melodic phrases that really bring out the mood of the tune. The groove isn't all fast horn playing, but rather is a solo that is constructed with carefully chosen note choices, rhythmic patterns, and, especially, silence that fits like a new suit. The rhythm section is backing him with amazing clarity of idea and serve what is really needed in a tight jazz group.
      Adam Rogers' solo on "Train" brings out his versatile quality as a guitar player, as his solo is rather odd in a casual sense, but as he keeps the theme of it even over the groove that sneaks in the background, it makes more and more sense. The "rock" quality in his playing as many know from listening to him in recordings from different groups (Lost Tribe, for example) is interestingly effective and adds a whole different mood to the piece that would have been recognized in any other way. One won't easily miss the haunting quality of his bends over Craig Taborn's sound. The other members of the rhythm section fuel the new mood that is set by these sounds, especially on points like 9:26 and 10:03, where they fool the listener into thinking that they're about to go back into the groove, but instead hold their ground.
      Beware, though: there are many points in the recording that will make the casual listener cringe. In solo like Potter's on "Arjuna", one must intently listen to the entire solo to know where he's going. His virtuosity can be too intense for some, but as long as one doesn't lose track of where he started and how he develops, they will be able to easily appreciate his approach to the song.
      Speaking of casual listening, sometimes the album makes it hard to intently listen, and that's really a good thing. For example, I have tried to really listen to Taborn's Fender solo on "Arjuna", but I always find it extremely difficult to get past grooving with the band. Starting with Smith's infectious playing, the band starts to layer on top of the drumming piece by piece and produce an amazing track. The groove that continues behind the solo switches up a little bit as the solo continues but retains a very hard sound that the listener cannot help but get ingrained.
      One does not have to listen to much to know intuitively that this band his been playing together for a while and knows how to compliment each other and the music that they are playing. And, what's amazing about that is, they really haven't been playing that long together as a whole. Adam Rogers has been playing with Potter on and off since his impossible-to-find first release for Concord, Concentric Circles, in 1994, and Nate Smith has been with Potter for four years now since he replaced Billy Kilson in the Dave Holland Quintet, but the Underground band really is a completely different animal in terms of musical selection.