Chris Potter

Chris Potter began his career in professional jazz at the age of only 13, soon gaining a devoted local following.

At 18, he moved to New York to attend college, first at New School University and then at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with pianist Kenny Werner, establishing a lasting friendship with him that led to the recording of a duo album in 1994.

During this time, he renewed contact with the great trumpeter Red Rodney, with whom he had previously played at a jazz festival in Columbia.

His four years in Rodney’s band meant a lot to Potter, allowing him to hone his skills alongside a bebop legend until Rodney’s passing in 1994.

Chris Potter after graduating from the Manhattan School of Music in 1993, Potter began a series of collaborations with such prominent musicians as Patricia Barber, Marian McPartland, the Mingus Big Band, Paul Motian, Ray Brown, Jim Hall, James Moody, Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Wayne Krantz, Mike Mainieri, Steve Swallow, Steely Dan, Dave Holland, Joanne Brackeen and others, as well as recording albums under his own name.