Traveling Mercies

1	Megalopolis 7:00
2	Snake Oil 6:04
3	Invisible Man 5:08
4	Washed Ashore 7:07
5	Children Go 5:37
6	Any Moment Now 5:21
7	Migrations 8:06
8	Azalea 5:50
9	Highway One 10:12
10	Just as I Am 3:37

Barnes & Noble

At 31, saxophonist Chris Potter has spent much of his life on the road with a veritable musical who's who, most recently Dave Holland, Dave Douglas, Steely Dan, and the quartet that performs on Traveling Mercies, his second release for Verve. Comprising eight originals with strong melodies, plus the traditional hymn "Children Go" and Willie Nelson's "Just as I Am," it's compositionally and programmatically ambitious, an informed meditation on America from a one-world perspective. Deploying his full arsenal (tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet, flutes, reed organ, and sampler), Potter plays like a force of nature, and his unit is superb: Drummer Bill Stewart keeps the rhythms percolating with contemporary beats at once populist and complex; keyboardist Kevin Hays entextures the flow with apropos electric and acoustic comping; bassist Scott Colley's lines embody the principle of keen harmonic intelligence in perpetual motion. Having accumulated a seemingly limitless vocabulary from all corners of jazz history, Potter is supremely prepared to push the envelope of the jazz mainstream, and he does so with imagination and impeccable craft throughout this stimulating recital. Ted Panken

All Music Guide

Chris Potter gets more and more adventurous. On this follow-up to the strong Gratitude, the tenor and soprano saxophonist beefs up strong writing and heady group interplay with occasional sampled sounds and miscellaneous textures like clavinet and reed organ. True to form, he plays additional wind instruments -- alto flute and bass clarinet in this case -- and isn't afraid of overdubbing them to create lush orchestration, on tracks like "Snake Oil" and "Any Moment Now." On the haunting "Invisible Man" he even doubles the alto flute melody with his singing voice. Not until the fifth track, a Meters-like adaptation of the spiritual "Children Go," do you hear a 4/4 tempo; loping lines over odd meters prevail, with pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Bill Stewart expertly laying down the edgy grooves. (Like on Gratitude, Hays doubles on Fender Rhodes.) John Scofield contributes tart solos on three tracks, while Adam Rogers adds nylon-string and slide colors on two others. The sweeping, Metheny-esque harmonies of "Highway One" bring the program to a head, followed by a closing bass clarinet/piano duo on Willie Nelson's "Just as I Am." As a jazz record, Traveling Mercies is very much a product of its post-millennial times, but it still comes across as highly individual. Its value will be lasting. David R. Adler

All About Jazz

Potter possesses a strong tenor sound...but it’s a real treat to hear him on bass clarinet, flute, and odd instrumentation such as the reed organ. Combine this with exceptional compositional skills, and choice musicians; Traveling Mercies is a cut above the rest.