Underground is the tenth studio album by jazz saxophonist Chris Potter released on the Sunnyside label in 2006.Sunnyside Records Album Entry. Retrieved January 8, 2018 It features guitarist Wayne Krantz, keyboardist Craig Taborn and drummer Nate Smith.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 3 stars stating "Underground won't come close to appealing to everyone, but so what? It's a fine Potter outing and studio documentation of a fine band that has actually kept the jazz in fusion and vice versa".
All About Jazz correspondent John Kelman observed "With Underground Potter delivers the album that his consistently impressive past efforts only suggested was possible. Combining complex and emotionally wide-reaching compositions with often knotty, yet always accessible grooves, Potter has finally fashioned an album that, more than announcing his potential, delivers it from start to finish with a clear voice ... Potter is by no means at his creative peak—or so we can only hope—but with Underground he has made his most personal and successful statement to date".Kelman, J. All About Jazz Review, January 27, 2006
In The Guardian, John Fordham wrote "When powerful employers give him the nod, Potter can sound like one of the best saxophonists on the planet, one who seems to have fully absorbed the jazz-sax tradition from Sidney Bechet to Tim Berne. He has been more unsettled as a leader, but this set launches a scalding contemporary-fusion band that includes two gifted younger mavericks".Fordham, J. The Guardian Review, March 10, 2006
Track listing All compositions by Chris Potter except where indicated "Next Best Western" – 9:40 "Morning Bell" (Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Phil Selway, Thom Yorke) – 5:41 "Nudnik" – 9:53 "Lotus Blossom" (Billy Strayhorn) – 5:09 "Big Top" – 11:46 "The Wheel" – 6:59 "Celestial Nomad" – 6:28 "Underground" – 11:11 "Yesterday" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 2:50
Personnel Chris Potter – tenor saxophone Wayne Krantz, Adam Rogers (tracks 6 & 9) − guitar Craig Taborn – Fender Rhodes Nate Smith – drums
References