Sunrise Reprise

Though tenor sax virtuoso Chris Potter has doubled on other horns since the ’90s and embraced electric jazz head-on with his Underground quartet in the ’00s, *Sunrise Reprise* and its 2019 predecessor, *Circuits*, involve new sonic and compositional departures. Reuniting with keyboardist James Francies and drummer Eric Harland, Potter leads a trio incarnation of a group that originally included Paris-based electric bassist Linley Marthe. Francies, in addition to his bracing improvised solos, covers the low end with fat keyboard bass, while Potter creates layers of sound with tenor and soprano sax, clarinets, and flutes as well as sampler and keyboards to supplement Francies’ otherworldly textures and tones. In the harmonic dreamscapes of “Sunrise and Joshua Trees,” the subtle groove of “Southbound,” the rhythmic agitation and stunning melodic intricacy of “Serpentine,” the pastoral blend of tenor and acoustic piano on “The Peanut,” and the sheer endurance of the closing 24-minute epic, “Nowhere, Now Here/Sunrise Reprise,” we hear an artist breaking boundaries, imbuing tight compositional structures with a sense of imperfection and risk.

One of the most prolific improvisers of his generation returns with the follow up to his 2019 Circuits album: a powerful and cathartic record featuring keyboardist James Francies and drummer Eric Harland. In Sept 2020, a small window emerged from the restrictions and saw an opportunity to record ‘Sunrise Reprise’ with his Circuits trio. It was the first time anyone in the group had recorded with other musicians in months, and for prolific musicians such as these, it resulted in an outpouring of collective creativity, energy, and spirit. The session was a huge release from the build-up of tension over the previous months, as Chris explains; “All of a sudden we’re in the studio. It felt such a release, a sense of freedom to create and to express ourselves collectively. It’s this, that has been the central part of this album – it’s about the trio, our shared energy, reflecting our own thoughts and feelings from all that’s going on in the world. Eric, James, and I really needed to PLAY, to try to put into music all the intense feelings of the previous few months. The close bond we had developed playing this music together on the road led to what we felt as a cathartic musical experience in the studio, documented in one very special evening”. Chris Potter

Chris Potter's Circuits Trio, featuring James Francies and Eric Harland, return with 'Sunrise Reprise' - laying synthesizers and woodwinds without cliche.