Greetings readers. As usual, it has been a long time since I last posted. But as always, I have a reasonable excuse. For the past month I have been traveling. However, this past time has not been wasted for you, the readers; my travels have allowed me to see live, for the second time, the amazing Chris Potter (I, fortunately, got to meet him!). However, this time he was playing at the legendary Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London with his group "Undeground." This group is more groove-based than his previous show with the Paul Motian Trio. It features Adam Rogers on guitar, Craig Taborn on keyboards (Fender Rhodes), and Nate Smith on drums.
The show was a prime example of Underground's mind-blowing music. The whole group seemed to be possessed--they got crazy, but the crazier they got, the better it got. For those of you who may not be so familiar with this group, the way their music works (as elucidated by Chris Potter himself) is the group works its way into a melody (sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly). After this, they take the song anywhere they feel like and begin to blow (and they can do this because they all know each other's playing so well), always keeping the melody in mind. Sometimes it is more structured, with written chord structures to follow. But often times it is very free. In coordination with the freedom of the music is a firm base in grooves, often leaning toward the more energetic and funkier ones.
In this particular show, the group played in accordance with the above general guidelines, but took the music to unexpected levels. Every member was on--even the unreliable Adam Rogers. They played a lot of music from their new album "Ultrahang." As expected Chris Potter left me in a daze after every one of his solos. But Adam Rogers and Craig Taborn were the big surprises. Adam Rogers is usually a let down when listening to this group; his solos often fail at achieving the same energy level and groove of the other members (especially Chris Potter). But this night his playing was unrestrained--he was blurting out bone-chilling (in a good way) and disgustingly good lines amidst a solid set of other lines that grooved like I've never heard from him before. And Craig Taborn simply flicked off all music theory conventions and literally began banging his keyboard with his fists and arms, emitting yelps, shrieks, and roars from the instrument--it was savage. Nate Smith didn't solo much, but he played right along with the rest of them. His performance was equally impressive as he followed the rest of the band most of the time, changing energy levels and grooves along with them. He was as much a part of Adam Rogers grooving and Craig Taborn's savagery as they were. After listening to the group many times on disk, I was not disappointed in any way while seeing them in person.
For a good example of Undergound, listen to their live album "Follow the Red Line."
As always, check out grooveshark to listen to some of their stuff. Here is a link to an example of their music. Make sure to check out the second part as well.
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