Mehldau, Potter, Patitucci and Blake – Summit Meeting at Montpelier.
From the 2024 Montpelier Jazz Festival – a summit meeting featuring Brad Mehldau, Chris Potter, John Patitucci and Johnathan Blake. Recorded by Radio France Musique on July 9, 2024.
Supergroups are a well-known phenomenon in rock music, but in jazz, too, big stars regularly unite. Saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist John Patitucci and pianist Brad Mehldau came together to play on Potter’s much-talked-about new album Eagle’s Point. The chemistry on this record is extraordinary and Potter’s compositions leave a deep and enduring impression. Live, the trio is joined by drummer Jonhathan Blake. Each of the four men has built up a remarkable oeuvre of their own and has worked on exceptional collaborations: their collective resumé includes a wide range of names, from Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter to Sting, as well as Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny and Avishai Cohen. It never ceases to be special to see a supergroup like this, with celebrated pianist Mehldau, innovator Potter, virtuoso Patitucci and all-rounder Blake playing together live at the festival as Potter*Mehldau*Patitucci*Blake.
From the notes for the upcoming Jazzaldia Festival in Spain later on this July:
Potter / Mehldau / Patitucci / Blake
Chris Potter (sax), Brad Mehldau (piano), John Patitucci (bass), Johnathan Blake (drums)
Chris Potter, widely recognised for being one of the most influential sax players of his generation, joins Brad Mehldau, possibly the finest Jazz pianist of the last 20 years, to create a spanking new quartet, alongside another two great musicians, John Patitucci on the double bass and Marcus Gilmore on the drums.
This star-spangled quartet due to release their first album in March 2024 are bang on track to give a magnificent concert at the 59th Jazzaldia.
Chris Potter is a leading light of contemporary Jazz, a saxophonist and composer with boundless creativity and mesmerizing improvisational skills. His energetic, sophisticated, dynamic and expressive style ranges from vigorously classic Jazz to the most avant garde fusion.
Brad Mehldau is one of the most highly acclaimed pianists of his generation. Terms like sensitivity, elegance, innovation, sophistication and strength define the musical personality of this marvellous North American pianist, capable of creating and performing music replete with nuances, evocative and narrative.
John Patitucci, a composer and performer who has worked with the Jazz greats like Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard… With pop stars such as Sting, Aaron Neville, Natalie Cole, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Milton Nascimento and Joao Gilberto. And with big-name composers including Henry Mancini, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Ry Cooder…
A prodigy on the 6-string electric guitar and the double bass, Patitucci is a model for countless bass players who admire his complex language, his versatility, his technical precision and his characteristic sound.
Now you know – dive in:
