One of the peripheral joys of a recent trip to the Northwest was the opportunity to spend quality time in-flight with octet of albums on my pocket mp3 player. I chose a handful of Steve Lacy discs as part of the program, not so much for the presence of Lacy, but for his reliable foil Steve Potts. Potts is a person who always seems to slip my mind when I’m making mental lists of unsung saxophonists, but not for wont of merit. He’s been in the game for well over three decades, but like John Gilmore to Sun Ra or Jimmy Lyons to Cecil Taylor, his discography is still disappointingly scant outside of his better-known employer’s orbit. His complete immersion in many of Lacy’s own projects coupled with a continued expatriate residency probably have something to do with the scarcity, but it still seems odd given his talent and I have to surmise it’s by choice.
To draw another (probably superfluous) analogy, Potts strikes me as the Pharoah Sanders to Lacy’s Coltrane. His attack and vernacular are often the playfully vulgarian counterpart to Lacy’s more studied constructions with brash emotive swoops and a sharp-fanged tone regular parts of the package. But he’s far from a monochromatic improviser. He’s also adept at relaxed and ruminative balladry, reeling out restrained bluesy lines when the situation dictates. He reflects Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis’ old adage about “commanding the horn” and “not allowing it to play you” and thin threads of old teachers like Eric Dolphy and Charles Lloyd are occasionally audible in his solos. Listening again to Morning Joy, a Parisian club date that removes Irene Iebi from the mix and centers welcome attention on the two-pronged frontline, I was repeatedly won over by his daredevil phraseology and use of freak-register tonguing. There are moments when his ideas outstrip his technique, but the disparity never seems to stop him from walking the wilder side anyway. A prominent R&B flavor crops up regularly in his playing, one that projects an infectious earthiness that often coaxes Lacy toward looser, funkier paths of expression. Both of them play the hell out of their horns, ably and energetically backed by bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel and drummer Oliver Johnson. If polled, I would probably pick it as the most viscerally enjoyable entry in the Lacy canon (at least among the three dozen or so albums I’ve heard).
Flim Flam offers an even more concentrated dose of Potts in juxtaposition with Lacy. Presenting just the two saxophonists on a Swiss stage sans band, the disc is stocked with examples of extended improvisation and plenty of steam heat. Cliches and Wee See are larger affairs with Potts less prominent, but he still manages to make memorable marks on each. All this brings me back to my opening query: why has Potts been so reluctant to record on his own? The same strange paucity exists for his work as a sideman. I’m familiar with his part on Misha Mengelberg’s Root of the Problem (hatOLOGY), but was hard pressed to recall other sessions in a supportive capacity. A swing by his website reveals some surprising detours in his discography including dates with the Alan Parsons Project, Sugar Blue, Ghetto Blaster and several obscure film soundtracks. Two dates as a leader are also listed, Pearl and Wet Spot, but details as to labels or personnel are difficult to come by. Concert gigs appear to have been plentiful in 2006, with Potts both fronting and contributing to a variety of ensembles. But again, commercially available recordings just don’t seem to be a viable outcome of these collaborations. So, what’s the deal? Do I have Potts and his comparative talents pegged wrong, or should he be handed a record contract posthaste?
Posted by derek on August 30, 2006 7:53 AMSteve Potts has very regular gigs at a small club in Paris, les sept lézards (http://7lezards.com/).
This place seems to be like home to him. It's a small basement with few seats. When I saw him we were about 20 in the room...
He has a regular band with Simon Goubert (who has worked with Magma's Christian Vander), J.J. Avenel, pianist Sophia Domancich, (those three also form a distinct trio) and Michel Edelin (flute).
He rarely plays in bigger parisian venues.
It seems to be his choice, to lead this placid life in Paris.
I know the mastermix is in the works, D, but how about a´´finest moments´ as culled from the vast archives of Taylor Storage.
I would love to hear some impressions of his gigs in Paris, if you are willing to share.
Posted by: Ted at August 30, 2006 8:29 AMNice to see this masterful saxophonist getting some attention. In addition to the superb "Morning Joy" and "Flim Flam", there is also an excellent Potts/Lacy duet on West Wind - "Live in Budapest" - from October 1987.
Posted by: Graham L. Rogers at August 30, 2006 9:56 AM"Morning Joy" is just amazing. They just hit it so right on that one. Potts has his own cd out and I think an LP or two.
He is also on that great Menglberg cd that kicked off the Hatology series.
Funny but I was just recently listening to a stunning Potts/Lacy duo concert (from Bremen perhaps, in the early 1990s?) and couldn't agree more with you, Derek (and others). I've long loved them in a group context but that was my first experience (despite having many dozens of Lacy records) with them as a duo proper.
Posted by: Jason at August 30, 2006 1:00 PMI think Root of the Problem was one of the first things I ever reviewed for Cadence. Loved it.
Posted by: walto at August 30, 2006 1:34 PMFear the serpent!
Posted by: Michael Schaumann at August 30, 2006 1:40 PMThe gig I saw (29 december 2005) was with the line up I gave you. It was very good, with a special mention to Goubert and Avenel IMHO ; and the leader, of course.
They music they played was in the tradition, if you see what I mean : theme, solo for each, theme, end. And i guess I was prepared for something a bit more ... challenging.
The concert was very good, nonetheless, very good music and musicianship.
Derek,
Easy on the alliteration, my friend.
Posted by: David Jones at August 30, 2006 8:45 PMThe only duo setting I have of them is "Raps." They are so playful together. Like kids. Anyone ever hear the Hat Art Virgin Megastore performance promo? Saw it in a Lacy discography. Maybe there was a big Hat Art sale at Virgin that day. This is making me hungry. Please drop more recommendations.
Posted by: Ted at August 31, 2006 1:56 AMI thought "Raps" was a quartet session (with Ron Miller and Oliver Johnson - Adelphi, 1977). Perhaps there's another recording with the same title ...
Posted by: Graham L. Rogers at August 31, 2006 2:58 AMNo, it is. Exactly. What I meant to say is the only album with them two on the front line.
Posted by: Ted at August 31, 2006 3:11 AMOK, Ted. There's another disc with Potts & Lacy "in the front line" (i.e. no Aebi!) called "Revenue" on Soul Note from 1993, with J.J. Avenel and John Betsch. Very fine indeed it is too!
Posted by: Graham L. Rogers at August 31, 2006 3:37 AMIs this an "on the line" "in the line" joke or is it a "front line" one?
Posted by: Ted at August 31, 2006 4:26 AMPotts and Lacy are the line - front and back. Get hold of a copy of that "Live in Budapest" LP I mentioned above, and you'll see what I mean. It's an exposive performance. Let's not forget - Steve Potts' uncle was Buddy Tate.
Posted by: Graham L. Rogers at August 31, 2006 4:36 AMGreat recs thus far. I’d also add the two recently reissued America titles, The Gap (killer version of “The Thing” therein) and Mal Waldron w/ the Steve Lacy Quintet, with the edge going to the former platter if a person has to pick one.
Learning of the Potts/Tate connection over at Steve’s website tripped me out, but it makes sense. Tate had a similar tendency of pushing his standard technique past its limits and coming up with gold.
Posted by: derek at August 31, 2006 5:52 AMEasy on the alliteration, my friend.
It’s a writerly vice, pure & simple, but one I can thankfully indulge in freely here at Bags w/o the fear of editorial reprisals. :)
Posted by: derek at August 31, 2006 5:55 AMI thought initially that this was a Potts/Lacy thread. But if it's Potts/Lacy, plus whoever else was in the band, this could become a very long list indeed ...
Posted by: Graham L. Rogers at August 31, 2006 6:50 AMTwo quotes from an article in Down Beat re Steve Potts & Steve Lacy, from May 1992:
Lacy: "It's a miracle that he still plays with me. He could be out there with his own band in a minute".
Potts: "A lot of people think sitting next to one of the great saxophonists of the century would adversely influence me, like I would sound like him. But that's not true. It's by being next to somebody like him that I can develop my own personality even further, because I know what not to do, not to copy him or anybody else". … "Just by being there in the Sextet, though, should say a lot (about) my priorities in making an individual music … ".
Posted by: Graham L. Rogers at August 31, 2006 8:08 AMDerek, nice piece on Potts. His playing sometimes annoys me--even on the great "Morning Joy"--but he does have his own voice, and I do admire him. In addition to the Lacy/Potts outings sans Aebi mentioned above, I'd add "Points" and "The Crust." And though it includes Aebi, "Tips" is really a Lacy/Potts duo album on the order of "Flim Flam."
Posted by: Paul B at September 2, 2006 8:05 AMThanks, Paul. I can understand how you might find Potts annoying, his playing has a mischievous “button pusher” quality to it sometimes. I haven’t heard those albums you mentioned. So much Lacy,…
Posted by: derek at September 2, 2006 4:26 PMPotts is on Claudine François's quartet disc "Lonely Woman" recorded in 2003 (with Avenel and betch) and released on Marge: http://futuramarge.free.fr/
Posted by: DD at September 2, 2006 5:26 PMFor non-Lacy Potts dates, dig on Francois Tusques "Intercommunal Music" (Shandar) and vibist Rob Wood's "Tarot" (Edici), two prime early '70s slots for Potts!
Posted by: clifford at September 4, 2006 6:04 PMI love ya, Clifford, tossing these totally-impossible-to-find albums at us as if we could just pop down the street to Sam Goodies or something and pick up a Shandar in the 99c bin! How many times have you (you plural folks) seen ANY original Shandar LPs in a shop? I've NEVER seen a copy of Intercommunal Music in my life (I have a dodgy cassette, that's all), and Shandar was a French label! Of the original Shandars (not counting reissues, because a lot of the stuff has been reissued several times over) I've got the CT box set, the two live Sun Ras, the Terry Riley, the Reich, the LaMonte Young and the Sunny Murray. I have the others as reissues or cassette copies. What about you?
Posted by: Dan Warburton at September 4, 2006 10:06 PMAhhh....
Not the LaMonte, the Grippe, or the Abed Azrie! Think I've got most of the others, though. I would assume that one could download the Tusques from soulseek or some such, but I haven't tried.
I think the only ones I DIDN'T get in a shop were the Reich and the Pandit Pran Nath, for what it's worth.
Posted by: clifford at September 5, 2006 7:41 PMLooks like Corbett is getting raid Lacy's cassette box. I just saw this cd at Amoeba:
http://atavistic.com/artist.cfm?action=2&ThisArtist=175&ItemID=376
I love that version of his band.
At the risk of sounding like a shill (never posted here before), the new UMS Lacy album is pretty good. Uneven--lots of moments a little too long 'off the beaten path'--but fairly riveting when it is. The sound quality, however, is bootleg-poor, so know what you're in for. Potts, anyway plays well (and I just purchased a copy of "Flim-Flam," based partly off of whatever I gleamed from lurking activities).
Posted by: k evangelista at September 10, 2006 8:27 PMSaw it last night, got it today. The sound is really harsh, sounds like Weasel Walter mastered it, the music is great so far, and Potts is burning...
Posted by: Damon Smith at September 10, 2006 9:48 PMMy hopes raised and lowered in a mere couple of posts. Sounds like a shoddy start to what I was hoping would be a promising series. Anyone have a line on what is cued up next? I would love to hear something else from the trio that made up The Flame. I really love that album.
Posted by: Ted at September 11, 2006 1:56 AMThe Flame is great. Totally unique sound. I love Dennis Charles' playing on that record. I think that is what really makes that record. He's got this incredbly "dead" sound (I don't mean that in a bad way, just that the his sounds end very abruptly - It almost sounds like someone has gone in and spliced out the last fraction of sound from every phrase he plays).
Posted by: Jacob Lindsay at September 11, 2006 10:29 AMI know exactly what you mean. I alway think of it the same way. Like he´s playing a toy kit or something.
Posted by: Ted at September 11, 2006 11:17 AMIt is listenable, on headphones is was really rough, at home it sounds fine. It is always great to hear this band, and I guess this is where I hijack the thread and talk about how great Kent Carter is and how you can never hear enough of him.
Posted by: Damon Smith at September 11, 2006 11:38 AM"I guess this is where I hijack the thread and talk about how great Kent Carter is and how you can never hear enough of him."
I'm more interested in discussing the tradition of bass-less trios:
The Flame
Schlippenbach Trio
Cecil Taylor w/ Lyons, Murray
Brotzmann/Van Hove/Bennink
also those w/ guitar instead of piano:
ex. Topography of the Lungs
I really like the sound of this instrumentation. There is something very open and crisp about it (if you can call anything w/ Brotzmann crisp). I played a trio recently w/ percussion and guitar and found that grouping very nice to play with.
So: Damon, go ahead and talk about basses. I'll talk about not-basses.
"I guess this is where I hijack the thread and talk about how great Kent Carter is and how you can never hear enough of him."
I'm more interested in discussing the tradition of bass-less trios:
The Flame
Schlippenbach Trio
Cecil Taylor w/ Lyons, Murray
Brotzmann/Van Hove/Bennink
also those w/ guitar instead of piano:
ex. Topography of the Lungs
I really like the sound of this instrumentation. There is something very open and crisp about it (if you can call anything w/ Brotzmann crisp). I played a trio recently w/ percussion and guitar and found that grouping very nice to play with.
So: Damon, go ahead and talk about basses. I'll talk about not-basses.
Don't forget the Gartkowski/Van Hove/Oxely on Nuscope, that one is awesome. The ZentralQartett is pretty solid as well.
Posted by: Damon Smith at September 11, 2006 1:28 PMAlthough not a trio, the bass-less Frank Wright group with Noah Howard, Bobby Few, and Muhammad Ali had a terrific sound. There's a lot of transparency about that quartet that really opens up the energy--especially in a group with that much weight in the horns...
Posted by: k evangelista at September 11, 2006 2:16 PMOther two fine bass-less trios that come to mind: Yosuke Yamashita's with Akira Sakata, and the Ganelin Trio.
Posted by: Gerardo Alejos at September 11, 2006 3:01 PMDoes Julius Hemphil's trios w/ Abdul Wadud on cello count?
One of my favorite truly bassless trios is Joe & Mat Maneri w/ Randy Peterson, or with Joe Morris.
The CD by Jackalope (Loren Stillman, John Abercrombie, Bob Meyer) isn't very stellar, but live they have been known to kick some ass.
Posted by: Reuben Radding at September 11, 2006 11:06 PMOh! And a couple interesting trios on Spool:
Dylan van der Schyff w/ Eyvind Kang, and Francois Houle
and van der Schyff/Lee/Houle.
Posted by: Reuben Radding at September 11, 2006 11:08 PMI love the live CD of Big Satan with Marc Ducret, and I saw a live bass-less trio monday last week with him on guitar with Tony Malaby on tenor and Daniel Humair on drums ... Ducret is rythmically amazing and has an excellent connection with drummers, it was striking with Humair.
Posted by: Vinz at September 12, 2006 2:07 AMOne of the best bass-less trios ever:
The first track on School Days (Grimes was late)
Posted by: Jacob Lindsay at September 12, 2006 10:29 AMHello Everybody.....
Who do remember Jimmy Giuffre with Shelly Manne & Shorty Rogers on the Three and the Two ? One of the piece is titled "abstract", the other side of this contemporary LP is a duo with pianist Russ Freeman.
A great bass - less trio that I caught in the act was Lovens Parker Rutherford in the first Incus Label Festival 85 . Paul was playing instead of Alex v. The recording is issued on the double album The Ericle of Dolphy.
Another interesting stuff is on CAW 01 : Toshinori Kondo John Russell and Roger Turner. Sound is not pristine but it is great.
Bead vinyl serie had a Tony Oxley Phil Wachsmann Project The Glider and The Grinder with Hugh M and Wolgang Fuchs (Hugh being the best fourth Mousquetaire in the World apart), Will Evans, Matt Hutchinson and Richard Beswick (Opera) and Levers Alone with Hugh Metcalfe Chas Manning and Parny Wallace.
Roger T Steve B and Alan Tomlinson on Trap Street on Emanem . I heard their set at Freedom of The City 2003.
Again Roger T with Alan Silva & Hannes Bauer on In Situ "Standards" by "In The Tradition..
Of course the SME duo "maudit" of Trevor and John Stevens plus Derek B in Dynamics on The impromptu. Recorded in the LTC Garrick Yard St Martin's Lane november 73-74.
Irene S Rudiger Carl und Louis Moholo in Messer on FMP.
Brötz Mangelsdorf und Baby Sommer in Pica Pica, a great stuff.
CINC the trio of Wachsmann Vandermark and Lytton (Okkadisk LTD ED. Of course the recording of the concert in Brussels 1986 of Van Hove Fuchs and Lytton with Paul's chinese drumkit (one of the last). Fred Was Amazing....... and SAJ issued a very refined WO Der Kopf Sitzt...
Mc Gregor Moholo & Pukwana playing for the soul of the departing Jphny Dyani on Ogun label. On Ogun also, the curious Kenny Wheeler/ Elton Dean/ Joe Gallivan The Cheque is In the Mail. Andrea Centazzo plus Henry Kaiser & Toshinori Kondo on Protocol (Metalanguage) and the same Centazzo with La Donna Smith and Davey Williams on Velocities (Transmuseq label) and with Lol Coxhill and Franz Koglmann on Ictus (Moot Point).
Heard live Brötzmann Van Hove Bennink Antwerpen and Brussels and Moers etc....... Of course ICP 002 with Bennink Tchicaï and Mengelberg (with The Amagabowl suite).... Heard Joe Bowie with a guitar player and Bobo Shaw : great. Jackson o. Lake and Ph Ak Laff on Zaki (Hat Art)...
Yes the laatste nieuws is the return (for two months) of Kris Wanders in Antwerpen and Flanders playing with Tatsuya Nakatani and Peter Jacquemyn. Heard Kris W once , I was 18 or 19 in a bar in Antwareppe with my (future friend) bass player Jean Demey and Francis Van Assche on drums . It is one of my best memorable free jazz evening of all time.
Hm, time to change that "forkette"?
Posted by: N.D. at September 15, 2006 2:47 PM"Two dates as a leader are also listed, Pearl and Wet Spot, but details as to labels or personnel are difficult to come by."
To come back to Dolphy, I have the "two dates" in question.
The second, "Wet Spot" (self production)is a bit disappointing and can be bought from his web side (or could, don't know if it's still possible).
But the first, "Pearl" even if it's a bit of a "show case" album, is very good on the verge of excellent with an interestinf line-up: along side with Potts on alto and soprano, there's Jean-Jacques Avenel on Bass, Betrand Renaudin on drums and, for one of his first appearence on records, Richard Galliano on accordeon. And the accordeon was realmly something.
The album contains 8 titles five and half from Potts (one is co-signed by somebody called J. Hurt) two by Renaudin and one by Avenel.
The album has no producer (at least nobody credited as) but was recorded on the label of Renaudin (CC Production, to my knowledge, doesn't exist anymore) but badly distributed by a society called Caravan (!)
When I met Potts around that time, he offers me the CD and tells me that it was a "drama" that nobody could find it nowhere.
He was very bitter about.
The music on "Pearl" is deliberately post bop even funk at time with this accordeon who could sound like an organ or a synthé or a... piano.
I've been in his place twice because I wanted him to play and write the music of a film of mine that I try to produced and direct but never succed.
He was (is?) living (circa 1991/92)in a small appartement not very far from the "Gare du Nord" (in Paris, od course)and on the two occasion, Steve was listening to a symphony of Malher (I remember than the first time it was the second).
Steve is really a great and warm person, very quiet, deeply concerned by music and spirituality, very open to others.
And, he is, today, a master musician as ever.
He was in belgium few month ago where he has given a concert in the memory of Steve Lacy, playing mostly Lacy or music associate to Lacy and using both alto and soprano.
And I was please that he was in good health and, also, in a good mood.
And still young looking even if he is over sixty now (63, I think).
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