Atlanta Drummer Dave Potter's "You Already Know"

Dave Potter You Already Know  Summit #705

The Atlanta based drummer, Dave Potter, has recently released an album, You Already Know, on Summit Records, and this auspicious debut is making its way up the jazz charts. On this album he proves he has absorbed the tradition and developed a powerful sense of swing that he carries to any band that he plays with.  

Potter, a graduate from Florida State University’s Jazz Studies program, studied with the pianist Marcus Roberts. After graduating in 2005 he was chosen to work in The Louis Armstrong Quintet at The University of New Orleans, but his stay in Louisiana was cut short when hurricane Katrina hit the Crescent City. In 2006 he was awarded a scholarship to prestigious Julliard School of Music to continue his studies, but instead chose to return to his alma mater to get his master’s degree, which he completed in 2008.

Along the way Potter has enjoyed working closely with Roberts, a mentor, both at school and in the pianist’s working trio. The drummer caught the discerning eye of Robert's drummer/percussionist Jason Marsalis and Potter began working and touring with him in 2009. Since Marsalis began playing the vibraphone more regularly, Potter has taken over the drum chair and can be heard on two of Marsalis’ recordings Music Update and 21^st Century Trad Band.

On You Already Know, Potter has chosen to use three distinct rhythm sections, each made up a stellar cast of musicians, that in concert realize his musical vision. The ease with which he adapts to these three different bands is a testimony to his versatility as accomplished drummer. He molds himself to the need of whatever group he is in.

The program opens with Wayne Shorter’s “Night Dreamer,” manned by Jason Marsalis on vibraphone, Will Goble on bass and pianist Austin Johnson; essentially the Jason Marsalis Vibe Quartet working band. Potter and Goble lock into a bubbling rhythmic groove as Marsalis’ and then Johnson are featured over the changes. Potter can be heard erupting when needed or gently pulsing forward as the music requires.

On Marcus Roberts’ hard-charging “Country by Choice” Potter’s explosive drums are joined by Roberts on piano, bassist Rodney Jordan and the front line of Miguel Alvarado on tenor and Darren English on trumpet. The incendiary Nashville based Alvarado launches into an impressive barrage of fiery lines in his open salvo and Roberts dazzling keyboard work is equally exciting. Bassist Jordan’s solo, pulses on adrenaline and Potter’s drums percolate like bubbling lava in a caldera. This one cooks.

Potter wisely takes the temperature down a notch with the 1927 pop classic “My Blue Heaven.” Marsalis, Johnson and Gobles airing out the music on this bouncy stroll through memory lane. Potters easy shuffle in lock step with Gobles walking bass.

Potter injects some of his own compositional acumen into the mix with “Ratio Man.” This line-up includes pianist Louis Heriveaux, the bassist Craig Shaw and a returning Alvarado on soprano saxophone. Heriveaux is the one to listen to here as he spins serpentine lines through the maze of rhythmic changes provided by Shaw and Potter.

The same band returns to the more traditional straight-ahead jazz tackling Benny Golson’s classic “Whisper Not,” with the front line of Alvarado on tenor and Andy Sioberg on trumpet. Heriveaux’s sparse comping is a delight and his solos revelatory without any flash. Soiberg’s trumpet a bit tentative to my ears and Alvarado lays back for the most part.

The same group tackles Bobby Watson’s “Beatitudes” later on in the album. Heriveaux, again shines on a shimmering solo and Potter allows himself a brief roiling drum solo over the repeating drone of the two horns.

On Monk’s “Played Twice” Potter returns with Marsalis, Goble and Johnson to attack this quirky tune. The in-sync intuition of this group is apparent as they navigate Monk’s musical chicanery with practiced ease. Johnson’s piano is light and fluid, no doubt strongly influenced by Marsalis’ equally effervescent vibraphone style. Through it all Potter finds a way to add his own accents-stabs, splashes and rolls- at complimentary points.

Bassist Rodney Jordan’s plucky bass opens Potter’s “I’m Going to Heaven and You A’int” a lowdown dirty blues that features Jordan and pianist Roberts showing some soulful playing. Potter’s work here is restrained, a ghostly timekeeper, allowing these two masters to wring the emotional guts out of this song.

Potter returns with another original “Puppet Master” with Roberts, Jordan, Alvarado and English back. English, a promising talent on the trumpet, draws first blood. His solo a combination of bright jabs and slinky slurs. Listen to how well this group interacts; Alvarado’s deep-throated tenor solo sets out a line of notes that Robert’s quickly picks up; the tenor and piano finding common grounds for discussion. When Alvarado erupts it ignites Potter to respond with his own pyrotechnics in true simpatico.

Marsalis’ “Bells of Ascona,” the most evocative song on the album, is a hauntingly beautiful composition that features Marsalis’ tubular vibes ringing like the Church Bells they evoke. Johnson’s piano solo is particularly sensitive. Potter is all brush here and the group is for the most part reverent until Marsalis interjects an excerpt from a Christmas Carol partway through his solo, lightening it up for a brief second.

“Last Tune” is an under two-minute vocal summation by Potter, where he introduces the names of his bandmates while the group plays on in the background.  

Here is a video of Dave with The Jason Marsalis Quartet:

A Night of High Art : Atlanta's High Museum "Jazz on Fridays" : The Dave Potter Quintet

  Miguel Alvarado sax, Darren English trpt, Louis Heriveaux Keys, Craig Shaw bass, Dave Potter Drums.

                  

Last Friday night, as part of the “Jazz on Fridays” series at Atlanta’s High Museum, patrons of the museum were treated to some of Atlanta’s finest jazz musicians as they performed standards from the American songbook and some original music.  The featured group was The Dave Potter Quintet with Louis Heriveaux on keyboard, Craig “Shawbox” Shaw on upright bass, Darren English on trumpet, Miguel Alvarado on saxophones, and drummer/ leader Dave Potter.

Potter is an Atlanta based drummer who studied music at Florida State University under the mentorship of the pianist Marcus Roberts. He received his master’s degree from FSU in 2008. Besides sharing the stage with pianist Roberts, trumpeter Marcus Printup and others he has been an integral part of Jason Marsalis’s Vibe Quartet and recorded with the vibraphone artist on several albums including his latest, highly received The Twenty-First Century Trad Band.

On this early evening, there was a line of people anxiously awaiting the opening of the atrium where Potter and company would perform. The atrium area at the High Museum is a soaring, light filled expanse that is surrounded by an exposed stairwell that coils its way to the upper floors of the museum and offers a view of the City. The architectural firm of Richard Mier and Partners consciously designed the High museum with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim in mind. The glass exterior wall floods the area with natural light, which in the designer’s plan is a symbol of the enlightenment an institution of art and culture brings to its community and to all who enter the museum’s doors.

The Light Filled Atrium at the High Museum 

There were by some counts upwards of one thousand patrons enjoying the music. Some were seated, some stood, others milled around the atrium enjoying the diverse, cosmopolitan community that is Atlanta in all its splendor, while being thoroughly entertained by these top-notch musicians. For the uninitiated, it was a time of discovery as most of these musicians are all based in Atlanta and can be seen fairly regularly in local venues as well as with nationally touring acts.  Lest anyone fear they have to go to New York or New Orleans to see great jazz, these gentlemen shot an arrow into that balloon of nonsense.

After a brief introduction by WCLK Jazztones DJ Jay Edwards, the group started the set off with a quick paced, hard bop blues composed by the trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. Mr. Potter resplendent in his white suit with dark shirt and light tie leading the way. Mr. English and Mr. Alvarado charging into the melody in synchronous precision. They moved into the Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Mercer standard “I Thought About You” followed by another Van Heusen song “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” where Heriveaux enchanted the crowd with his marvelous keyboard work. If there is one criticism I can levy it is the disappointing lack of a real grand piano in this space. For such a marvelous musician as Mr. Heriveaux not to have a suitable piano here is a crime.



The band followed with the contemporary sound of Wayne Shorter’s “Night Dreamer.” After a spell I took off my journalist’s hat and just listened to and enjoyed the music, paying less attention to what songs they were playing and more into how well they were being played. The front line of trumpeter Darren English and saxophonist Miguel Alvarado was sensational. They often stated the melody line in crisp unified form before each taking robust and creative solos. The rhythm section, driven by Potter and anchored by Shaw and Heriveaux was superb. The pace of the music was often double time, with the rhythm section driving the two horn soloists to step up their game not to be left behind
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This was my first exposure to the saxophonist Miguel Alvarado who now hails from Nashville, Tennessee and what a pleasant surprise he was. His tenor had a rich, deep tone reminiscent of sax legend Houston Person, but when the pace was pushed by Potter and company he became an incendiary soloist of the highest order. The young South African, now native Atlanta trumpeter Darren English did an admirable job trading solos with Alvarado. English used mutes effectively to change up the sound of his open bell  trumpet and intensify the exchange with Alvarado. Not enough can be said about the stabilizing influence of “Shawbox” Shaw’s bass who kept an unerring pulse to the often-frantic proceedings and offered some nice solo work of his own invention.

The second set was more exploratory in that it offered some original tunes by Potter’s mentor Marcus Roberts, a Thelonious Monk composition and a rendition of “The Nearness of You” that had Alvarado ‘s tenor sounding very Dexter Gordonish. The group also did a Potter original “The Ratio Man” with Alvarado picking up the soprano saxophone for this one.  “Letting Loose” was an off to the races sprint that had Potter pushing the tempo with Elvin Jones like flourishes.

While I did not stay for the third set, the atrium was still SRO by the end of the second set. It is clear that Atlanta’s sophisticated listeners appreciate a good time and good music and will support highly cultural experiences like “Jazz on Fridays.” My only wish is that the crowd be a little quieter in respect to the musicians. The din was some times distracting. The High Museum, in association with WCLK, should be proud for presenting such a community service that obviously fills a need and at the same time preserves our only truly all American art form.To paraphrase a famous saying from an endearing baseball movie “If you present it , they will come.”

A view from above The Dave Potter Quartet

The Last Concert: Atlanta's Jazz Club "Churchill Grounds" Closes its Doors April 1997- July 2016

The window sign at Churchill Grounds

This past Sunday evening, July 31, 2016, the nearly twenty-year run of Atlanta’s longest continuously operating jazz club, Churchill Grounds, came to a glorious but ultimately sobering end. Since April of 1997, when the club first opened its doors, Churchill Grounds has been a labor of love. The name is curiously the combination of two things that Owner Sam Yi loves, Churchill size cigars and coffee grounds. This Atlanta institution was situated adjacent to the Fox Theater at 660 Peachtree NE in downtown Atlanta. Mr. Yi’s admittedly naïve motivation for such an endeavor? Maybe it would be fun to have a place where local musicians could play and you could make a little money providing a platform for the music that you love. Simple and admirable enough, but hardly the kind of business plan that would inspire a flock of financial supporters to your cause. That didn’t seem to bother Yi, a mild mannered business man, who was surprisingly passionate about the music and who decided to live his life immersed in it. On Sunday night, in an emotional farewell, he recounted how this endeavor required that he spend much of his life over the last twenty years at the club, putting in countless hours there, often at the expense of his family. Poignantly looking back over the years it was obvious that given the chance, Yi wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Owner Sam Yi; Billy Thornton on bass and Morgan Guerin on drums

It was his employees who worked there, the musicians who played there and the patrons who respectfully listened there that collectively became his extended family. He thanked them all with an emotion laden goodbye.That family even included two homeless men that became permanent fixtures outside the club’s front door. One of them, “homeless Joe,” offered his own tearful adage from the stage, saying how much he was going to miss seeing Sam and the steady ebb and flow of the club’s patrons. I suspect what Joe will miss most was his visibility. Sam and many patrons didn’t look past Joe, but acknowledged his humanity. They didn’t judge him, but looked at him as a soul who was just down on his luck. They didn’t castigate him as a nuisance, but greeted him with dignity, including him as part of the extended Churchill Grounds family. It was Sam Yi who provided this space where people who recognized the power and inclusiveness of the music were able to congregate and commune with one another.

And of course there was the music; it swung, it bopped hard or it grooved straight ahead, it fused wildly or it whispered softly and it often funked you to the bottom of your soul. The music wasn’t merely entertainment, it was history, it was creativity, it was a social compact and inclusiveness. Churchill Grounds became the go-to place in Atlanta. The place where musicians of all levels, professional and acolyte, could come and practice their skills, hone their craft, commune with each other and connect with their audience. It was the hometown stage for legends like the late Cedar Walton and the venerable Freddie Cole. It was the sometime residency for current standouts like Russell Gunn and Joe Gransden. It was a stop off joint for visiting celebrities like Wynton Marsalis or Harry Connick Jr. It was the proving grounds for a new breed of firebrand like Morgan Guerin, Kenny Banks Jr., the Harper Brothers and Darren English. 

A view from the drums at Churchill Grounds
photo by organ Guerin

The life of a musician is hard enough in today’s society where the arts in general are valued so poorly. Professional musicians often have to supplement their income by teaching, travelling extensively or taking other work. Churchill Grounds provided that home based waystation for many of Atlanta’s finest jazz musicians. Jazz musicians in particular have chosen a road that becomes ever more challenging in this modern world. Despite jazz being the only recognized original all American art form, the audience for this music has shrunken and grayed dramatically. According to a survey by Nielsens, jazz and classical music sales combined represented just 1.4% of the total music consumed in the United States in 2014. As for digital sales, the likely future of all music distribution- jazz streaming- represented a paltry .3% of the total volume of streamed music. These are sobering statistics for anyone who loves this music, for professional musicians and certainly for the hundreds of music students who are currently enrolled in jazz music educational programs. Needless to say, with such a small audience, the economic viability of presenting this music in a place like Churchill Grounds poses its own challenges.

But what statistics don’t reveal is the fierce loyalty, love and dedication that this music brings to those who embrace it. The spirit, reverence and sense of comradery that is often found within the jazz community as a whole is largely under appreciated by the general public. Jazz is international in its scope. The music remains an international language that bridges the widening gap between peoples of vastly different cultures. Jazz becomes the crucible by which these cultural differences can be annealed into a commonly shared means of communicating with each other in a positive and humanistic way.

The music is often spoken of as music for musicians. That assessment may be partially correct, as it takes a great deal of skill and dedication to play complex improvised music, but it also takes soul, heart and empathy to play it in such a way as it will move the listener.

In this technological age of diminishing attentions, we are less and less likely to immerse ourselves in the musical experience, perhaps because we no longer feel we have the time for such an indulgence. Jazz requires thoughtful listening. The experience is not always best conveyed through listening to recordings- although admittedly the great ones transcend the medium-but when we really listen and participate in the music in a “live” setting the magic of music can spread all over us like a blanket of warm sunshine. An engaged audience becomes an active participant in the creative process. Are we really ready to forego that precious experience? 

Having a venue that can offer musicians and music lovers a chance to experience what it is like to participate in a live jazz performance is crucial to very existence of the art form. That’s why the closing of Churchill Grounds is so distressing.

                                                                 Sam Yi and Russell Gunn

If anyone needed proof positive of the outpouring of love and affection that this music can generate, they should have been at the final few performances at Churchill Grounds. Local musicians and stalwart patrons came in force and solidarity to pay homage to the closing of an Atlanta institution. The City of Atlanta issued a proclamation naming the day Churchill Grounds Day and so did Fulton County, perhaps too little too late.

Kevin Bales, Billy Thornton, Russell Gunn and Morgan Guerin

Local trumpet legend Russell Gunn was the informal musical director of the proceedings when I attended on Sunday night. He was joined by the pianist Kevin Bales, the bassist Billy Thornton and the drummer Morgan Guerin. They played with a palpable intensity in a mostly hard bop style to an appreciate crowd of aficionados and well-wishers. Probably one of the most moving performances of the night was a rendition of the Bill Evan’s classic “Blue in Green.” Mr. Bales sensitive opening led to Mr. Gunn’s poignantly playing the melody on his muted trumpet that evoked memories of Miles Davis, an obvious influence. The young rhythm section was equally impressive.

The players frequently changed throughout the night as each one who came wanted to pay tribute in their own most personal way. At one point the stage was packed with four well known trumpet players-Russell Gunn, Georgia State educator Dr. Gordon Vernick, Joe Gransden and Darren English-in a trumpet show down that was par excellence. The trio section of Bales, Thornton, now with Marlon Patton on drums kept the frantic pace as the four guns had a high powered shoot out.

Here is a partial video of that show down posted on Darren English’s Facebook page: click here

Pianist Kenny Banks Jr. took over the piano chair and improvised on a beautiful rendition of “Con Alma.” His thoughtful ruminations on the melody were captivating. Here is a sample of that performance posted by saxophonist James Patterson. click here

Pianist Gary Motley took the piano chair and lent his elegant swing and facile chops to the proceedings. A seasoned professional as well as the Director of Jazz Studies at Emory University, Motley also accompanied several vocalists with a revolving rhythm section, this one including Craig Shaw on bass and Darren English on drums.

Some of the other artists that performed that night included tenor man Mike Walton, drummer Kenny Bostick, bassist Dishan Harper, trumpeter Terrence Harper, saxophonist James Robinson, flautist Rasheeda Ali and vocalists Laura Coyle and Julie Dexter. My apologies to those who I’ve missed.

Now that the lights are switched off and the doors are shuttered, the best way to describe the proceedings of this last evening at Churchill Grounds is to liken it to a joyous New Orleans style funeral march. A celebration of life not a demonstration of sorrow at the passing. Sam Yi was honored for his years of service, his defense of the cause and his unbridled passion for this music.

Make no mistake, this is a gut check for all of us who live in Atlanta and its surrounds. As a City of six million people can we really afford to lose yet another institution that promotes the arts? Do we really believe that the quality of our lives all comes down to dollars and cents on a ledger sheet?

Mr. Yi has said that he is looking for another venue, a rebirth of Churchill Grounds, hopefully in the near future. We should all hope he succeeds so that Churchill Grounds doesn’t become another distant memory like “Jeff’s Jazz” or “Dante’s Down Under.” Instead of lamenting another lost treasure, let’s all try to make this happen through community activism. You can help by donating to a special go fund me site by clicking here. It seeks to raise seed money to help secure another venue for Mr. Yi and hopefully, with our help. Churchill Grounds closing will be but a temporary blip in its long and illustrious history.