Join us for Session 5, Sunday, February 16, 2025, starting at 7:00pm with the Paul Carr Quartet featuring Billy Pierce; 8:30pm with Cyrus Chestnut and Ekep Knwelle; and 10:00pm with Orrin Evans, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and Chris Potter.

Chris Potter will be bringing his swinging-groove as he performs with the Orrin Evans Super Band which also includes Jeff Tain Watts.  The set begins at 10:00pm on the Main Stage. 

The Main Stage ticketing is divided into Sessions. Each Session is comprised of three power-hitting Acts. Seating is divided into groups which include Premium 4-seater tables, General 6-seater tables and then General theater seating.  ALL GENERAL SEATING TABLES ARE RESERVED FOR VOYAGER PASSPORT HOLDERS, so please purchase your all-access Voyager Passport in advance. You can pick up your Voyager Passports at the Box Office after 3pm on the first day of the festival. All proceeds from the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival directly support efforts of the Jazz Academy of Music.

About Chris Potter

Chris Potter is widely regarded as one of the most innovative saxophonists of his generation, delivering breathtaking solos and intricate improvisation. He navigates various jazz styles from straight-ahead to avant-garde and fusion. His original pieces blend complexity with emotional depth, offering audiences a fresh and engaging experience.

Chris Potter is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. Potter first came to prominence as a sideman with trumpeter Red Rodney (1992-1993), before extended stints with drummer Paul Motian (1994-2009), bassist Dave Holland (1999-2007), trumpeter Dave Douglas (1998-2003) and session work, while also maintaining an active solo career.

Potter has released over twenty albums as a leader and performed as a sideman on more than 150 more. Some of the artists he has played with include Pat Metheny, Marian McPartland, Patricia Barber, Kenny Werner, the Mingus Big Band, Paul Motian, Ray Brown, Jim Hall, James Moody, Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Mike Mainieri, Nguyen Le, Steve Swallow, Steely Dan, Dave Holland and Joanne Brackeen. 

His 2006 album Underground, on which he recorded with an electric, “groove”-based ensemble featuring keyboardist Craig Taborn, guitarists Wayne Krantz or Adam Rogers and drummer Nate Smith, was followed by the expansive Follow the Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard with Rogers on all six of its tracks. This group have reunited with Potter multiple times throughout his career and recorded & toured extensively.

Potter’s 1998 album Vertigo was named one of the year’s top ten jazz CDs by both Jazziz magazine and The New York Times. The album was inspired by a bout of Meniere’s disease that caused severe dizziness and damaged his hearing in one ear. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo for his work on the Joanne Brackeen album Pink Elephant Magic. He was awarded the Jazzpar Prize in 2000. His 2004 album Lift: Live at Village Vanguard was named one of the year’s ten best jazz recordings by Fred Kaplan of Slate.

Potter has appeared in the Down Beat Critic’s and Reader’s Polls and was named Rising Star for Best Tenor Saxophonist in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. He was honored as Tenor Saxophonist of the Year 2013 by the Jazz Journalists Association. Since his debut on the New York Jazz scene in 1989 at just 18, Potter has continued to push musical boundaries, earning a reputation as a forward-thinking artist and one of the most compelling voices in jazz today.