Chris Potter [Robert Ifarelli]

IN the week that we lost Sonny Rollins, that titan of the tenor, I went down to Ronnie Scott’s to catch one of his acolytes, Chris Potter, who has said that he learnt his approach to rhythm, phrasing and storytelling from studying Rollins.

This was a Downstairs gig for once, in the room that, much as I admire and enjoy the new Upstairs, still retains the lion’s share of Ronnie’s magic.

Potter acknowledged the passing of the saxophone colossus by announcing: “Long Live Sonny Rollins” to whoops and cheers from the sell-out crowd (which included a smattering of fellow sax players, including Bowie’s late career horn man of choice, Donny McCaslin, at the bar).

Soweto Kinch recently called one track of Potter’s he played on his Round Midnight Radio 3 show a “message from the summit of Mount Saxophone”. In a stripped-down trio setting (Matt Brewer on bass, Kendrick Scott on drums, both afforded plenty of space to shine), it certainly felt like we were at peak sax: Potter was on blistering, questing and yet playful form.

The sound was warm and textured, the technique mind-blowing, the soundscape switched around by Potter using the bass clarinet and even the piano.

Given how Potter paced his solos, building narrative, sometimes unaccompanied, hinting at classic tunes, the spirit of Rollins was definitely in the room.

Potter has a bold new album out, Alive With Ghosts Today on Edition records, a piece inspired by the legendary abolitionist John Brown, whose body famously lay a-mouldering after he was hanged.

Unlike many such concept records, it is neither portentous or over-sombre, although, unlike the live trio I saw, it is an ensemble piece, featuring really exemplary work from guitarist Bill Frisell (plus deft contributions from clarinet, trombone and violin) as well as agile excursions and deep, groove-heavy blues from the leader.

Give Alive with Ghosts Today and the earlier Got the Keys to the Kingdom: Live at the Village Vanguard a listen: together they will elevate Potter to one of your favourite sax men.

As is sometimes the way with jazz, there wasn’t much from the new record – Potter announced the trio would mainly playing new material for a planned studio session. Can you imagine a rock or pop band saying that? He did, however, essay my favourite track from the album, the pleasingly polyrhythmic Into Africa. It was, of course, a different beast without the bigger band, but still exhilarating.

And then, for the final number, a sprightly tune called Huckleberry, the aforementioned Donny McCaslin (who has his own hard-hitting Edition record, Lullaby for the Lost) came on stage, horn in hand, and, with his more angular, abrasive sound, thrillingly transported us to an old-school Lower East Side blowing session.

Potter responded with bravura runs, peppered with swoops, flurries and squeaks, all without losing his signature warmth and strangle-hold on melody.

They ended up trading sharp, punchy phrases, a cutting contest with no blood drawn, just big grins. It was sublime, spontaneous jazz at its best.

Potter, incidentally, is returning to Ronnie’s with multi-Grammy winning-pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and a killer rhythm section of Larry Grenadier on bass and Eric Harland on drums on July 18 (www.ronniescotts.co.uk/find-a-show/first-meeting). I’ll be there for that, too.

Another favourite sax player of mine, the lyrical Jean Toussaint (Grammy award winner and ex-member of Art Blakey’ Jazz Messengers) features in an ambitious project at Kings Place that explores the consequences of the black diaspora created by slavery, albeit one closer to home: the legacy of the Windrush Generation.

Windrush Day is June 22 and three days later north Londoner an Ivor Novello-award winner Renell Shaw (of Rudimental, Emeli Sandé and much, much more, including multiple theatre credits) will present his two ambitious, multi-faceted albums, The Windrush Suite and Echo In The Bones. We are promised “more than a concert”, something closer to a “sensory experience” involving jazz, rap, spoken word and hip-hop.

If the A-list talent on stage is anything to go by – Ayanna Witter-Johnson on cello, Orphy Robinson on vibes, trombonist Nathaniel Cross (tuba star Theon’s brother), swing-out-sister Romana Campbell on drums plus Toussaint – it should be quite the event.

I’ll be reporting back on it and the projected third volume of the piece due later this year. Meanwhile, get tickets here: www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/jazz/renell-shaw-the-windrush-suite-echo-in-the-bones/