quietly became one of the more sophisticated and respected stylists of the '90s and early 2000s, both as a leader and as a sideman in several prominent groups. Born in Chicago on New Year's Day 1971,
grew up mostly in Columbia, South Carolina, and started playing piano as a child. He took up the alto saxophone at age ten, initially inspired by
, and went on to learn tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet, and flute as well; by 13, he was performing professionally. At age 18, he moved to New York to attend the Manhattan School of Music, and quickly joined veteran bop trumpeter
's death in 1994. Meanwhile, he started playing on the side with
, for the Dutch Criss Cross label. In early 1993, he guested on
on Concord Jazz, which led to a deal of his own with the label; despite their generally mainstream output, they promised the more adventurous
Potter's first album to achieve widespread release in the U.S. was his Concord debut,
Concentric Circles, and it received generally excellent reviews, marking him as a name to watch. Gigs with
Paul Motian,
Renee Rosnes,
John Patitucci, and
Steely Dan's reunion tour raised his profile over the next two years, and he cut two more dates for Concord in 1994:
Pure and a duo album with onetime instructor
Kenny Werner. In addition to keeping up his associations with
Motian and
Jazz Mentality,
Potter went on to play with
the Mingus Big Band (which helped his stock rise even higher) and
Steve Swallow, and completed another album,
Moving In, in 1996. The following year's
Unspoken really started to make
Potter's name as a solo artist, hauling out a big-time rhythm section of guitarist
John Scofield, bassist
Dave Holland, and drummer
Jack DeJohnette.
Unfortunately,
Potter subsequently suffered a bout with Meniere's disease, a recurring condition that eroded much of the hearing in one ear. It didn't prevent him from continuing his career, though, and his next solo offering, 1998's
Vertigo, consolidated his growing critical goodwill; it also found him leading his own quartet, anchored by bassist
Scott Colley. That same year,
Potter took on two of his most important side gigs: he joined
Dave Holland's acclaimed quintet, and also began playing with fast-rising trumpet star
Dave Douglas. For the next few years,
Potter concentrated mostly on playing and touring with those artists, as well as
Motian and
Jim Hall; he was also nominated for a Grammy thanks to his solo work on "In Vogue," a track from
Joanne Brackeen's 1999 album
Pink Elephant Magic. In 2000,
Potter was named the recipient of Denmark's prestigious Jazzpar Prize, making him the youngest person ever to win the award. He was also heavily featured on
Steely Dan's Grammy-winning comeback album
Two Against Nature, all of which gave him his widest exposure yet. In its wake, he left Concord Jazz to sign with Verve, and offered his label debut with 2001's
Gratitude, a widely acclaimed album paying tribute to past saxophone greats. At this point, his quartet included
Colley, keyboardist
Kevin Hayes, and drummer
Brian Blade;
Blade was replaced by
Bill Stewart for the 2002 follow-up,
Traveling Mercies and Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard which appeared in 2004 on Sunnyside. An new band with guitarist Wayne Krantz, keyboardist Craig Taborn, and drummer Nate Smith was introduced on the 2006 release Underground. Song for Anyone appeared in 2007, featuring a new quartet and a pair of string players. He appeared as part of
Motian's trio on 2010's Lost in a Dream, and led the NDR Big Band on Transatlantic for EMI in 2011. In early 2013,
Potter made his debut as a leader for ECM on the album Sirens. His compositions for the set were inspired by episodes in Homer's epic poem,
The Odyssey. His quintet for the date included Taborn (piano), David Virelles (prepared piano, celeste, harmonium), Larry Grenadier (double-bass), and Eric Harland (drums)
–
Steve Huey, Rovi