Imaginary Cities (album)
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| Imaginary Cities | ||||
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| Studio album by the Chris Potter Underground Orchestra | ||||
| Released | January 16, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | December 2013 | |||
| Studio | Avatar (New York, New York) | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 71:09 | |||
| Label | ECM 2387 | |||
| Producer | Manfred Eicher | |||
| Chris Potter chronology | ||||
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Imaginary Cities is a studio album by the Chris Potter Underground Orchestra recorded in December 2013 and released on ECM in January 2015, Potter's second album for the label.[1][2] The ensembles features the return of his "Underground Quartet"—consisting rhythm section Craig Taborn, Adam Rogers, and Nate Smith—alongside vibraphonist Steve Nelson, bassist Scott Colley, bass guitarist Fima Ephron, and a string quartet.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz |  [3] |
| All About Jazz | [4] |
| Allmusic |  [5] |
| The Buffalo News |  [6] |
| Blurt | [7] |
| Financial Times | [8] |
| The Guardian | [9] |
| Irish Times | [10] |
The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 41⁄2 stars stating "Potter's writing on Imaginary Cities engages every aspect of his jazz palette. It embraces modern classical music as part of a striking whole. It is his most ambitious project to date, and arguably his most expertly articulated."[5]
The Guardian's John Fordham noted, "This feels like a work in progress with a fascinating future."[9]
Jeff Simon writing for The Buffalo News commented, "The result is utterly spectacular, I think. It’s a disc that it is completely fresh and idiomatically only itself, with great solos all through it, not least of all by Potter on tenor and soprano saxophone and bass clarinet."[6]
All About Jazz correspondent John Kelman observed "with Imaginary Cities Potter has created the first real masterpiece of 2015. A profound paradigm shift for the saxophonist, Imaginary Cities suggests that the end point of Potter's potential seems still very far beyond the horizon."[3] Another review by Karl Ackermann stated "Imaginary Cities is an expansive album expressing divergent motifs linked together through a central theme. The septet is taut and adventurous; the strings impassioned and thoughtful and Potter's playing is his best to date. Though he emerged as a leader two decades back seemingly fully-formed in every creative aspect, he continues to evolve and surprise. Imaginary Cities is a superb album on every level."[4]
