The Sirens (Chris Potter album)

The Sirens
Studio album by
Chris Potter
ReleasedJanuary 28, 2013
RecordedSeptember 2011
StudioAvatar, New York City
GenreJazz
Length63:36
LabelECM
ECM 2258
ProducerManfred Eicher
Chris Potter chronology
Transatlantic
(2011) 		The Sirens
(2013) 		Imaginary Cities
(2015)

The Sirens is a 2013 studio album by jazz saxophonist Chris Potter, recorded in September 2011 and released on ECM in January 2013, his first venture for the label.[1][2] It features Potter with longtime collaborators, pianist Craig Taborn and bassist Larry Grenadier, along with keyboardist David Virelles and drummer Eric Harland.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
The Guardian[5]
All About Jazz[6]
All About Jazz[7]

The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating "Potter's vision and compositions on The Sirens never lose sight of his goal: portraying the eternal essence of humanity in the mythos of his subject; his poetic lyricism as a soloist, and his empathy as a bandleader are consummate."[4]

The Guardian's John Fordham noted "Only the faintly niggling sensation of this being a classically authoritative Potter jazz set with some suitable concept-exotica embroidery blunts The Sirens' impact."[5]

All About Jazz correspondent John Kelman observed "Through it all, there's no mistaking this for anything but a Chris Potter record, but with The Sirens he's delivered one unlike any he's done before. An eclectic album that couldn't have happened without what's come before, it's nevertheless a signpost of significant change, as the saxophonist opens himself up compositionally—and, from a performance perspective, one that, if he can keep this remarkable group together, promises even better things to come."[6] Another review by Ian Patterson stated "The Sirens will go down as one of Potter's best, but this is assuredly a collective triumph."[7]

Track listing

All compositions by Chris Potter except as indicated

  1. "Wine Dark Sea" - 8:47
  2. "Wayfinder" - 6:49
  3. "Dawn (With Her Rosy Fingers)" - 7:23
  4. "The Sirens" - 8:38
  5. "Penelope" - 7:14
  6. "Kalypso" - 8:24
  7. "Nausikaa" - 5:40
  8. "Stranger at the Gate" - 8:12
  9. "The Shades" (Potter, David Virelles) - 2:11

Personnel

References

  1. ^ ECM catalogue
  2. ^ "Chris Potter – The Sirens". Discogs. discogs.com. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  3. ^ "THE SIRENS by Chris Potter". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b Jurek, T. Allmusic Review accessed December 18, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Fordham, J. The Guardian Review, February 8, 2013
  6. ^ a b Kelman, J. Extended Analysis - Chris Potter: The Sirens, All About Jazz, January 25, 2013
  7. ^ a b Patterson, I. The Sirens Review, March 27, 2013