Chris Potter

A brilliant review in the @financialtimes for Chris Potter’s new album Alive With Ghosts Today, bringing to life its story and powerful ensemble sound.

Happy release day✨ @chrispotterjazz Alive With Ghosts Today is out NOW! A powerful new ensemble work inspired by the story of the abolitionist John Brown, featuring Bill Frisell, Nate Smith, Burniss Travis, Sara Caswell, Rane Moore, and Zekkereya El-Magharbel. Stream it and own it on vinyl.

Chris Potter talking about Into Africa - from his upcoming new album Alive With Ghosts Today. Release date: 8 May 2026.

‘Into Africa’ from ‘Alive With Ghosts Today’ by Chris Potter feat. Bill Frisell, Burniss Travis, Nate Smith, Rane Moore, Zekkereya El-magharbel & Sara Caswell. Release date: 8 May 2026.

‘Into Africa’ from ‘Alive With Ghosts Today’ by Chris Potter feat. Bill Frisell, Burniss Travis, Nate Smith, Rane Moore, Zekkereya El-magharbel & Sara Caswell. Release date: 8 May 2026.

Chris Potter - May 2026 tour dates.

New single ‘Into Africa’ out now from ‘Alive With Ghosts Today’ - out 8 May on @editionrecords

Alive With Ghosts Today Vinyl Deluxe Limited Edition Double Gatefold Vinyl (blue cover) includes: – Double Vinyl gatefold design – 2 exclusive bonus tracks, featuring the quartet line-up only (Chris Potter, Bill Frisell, Nate Smith, Burniss Travis) – not available on streaming services – exclusive artwork and vinyl colour – digital download of all 10 tracks – limited edition – only 250 available online via Edition Records store EDNLP1293 – Standard Vinyl (red cover) includes: – Single LP – 8 tracks, featuring full ensemble line-up – digital download

Solo from the ‘Alive With Ghosts Today’ session for ‘Into Africa’ - out 17 April. Album out 8 May on @editionrecords

New single ‘Sister Annie’ is out today from the new album ‘Alive With Ghosts Today’. New album drops 8 May featuring Bill Frisell, Burniss Travis, Nate Smith, Rane Moore, Zekkereya El-magharbel and Sara Caswell on Edition Records. “Bringing this group together was honestly a bit of a hope and a prayer. Many of them didn’t really know each other - and I didn’t know some of them that well either - but I was writing with specific voices in mind. I could hear Bill’s sound in that Americana space, Nate bringing that deep pocket and groundedness, Burniss giving the music steadiness and weight, Sarah moving between classical precision and fiddle instinct, Rane interpreting anything I put in front of her with total authority, and Zekkereya adding this slightly raw, almost unruly trombone personality shaped by his study of the maqam language. What moved me was the seriousness and commitment everyone brought. When musicians lean in like that, when they’re listening that deeply, the music starts to rise beyond any one person’s contribution. It stopped being my project and became something collective - something larger than any of us”. Chris Potter Photos @_davestapleton / @editionrecords

Trying to get my creaky piano chops to a wee bit higher level, shedding Voyage by Kenny Barron.

Major new album ‘Alive With Ghosts Today’ from Chris Potter featuring Bill Frisell, Burniss Travis, Nate Smith, Rane Moore, Zekkereya El-magharbel and Sara Caswell, will be released on 8 May 2026 on Edition Records. Stream 1st single and pre-order Limited Edition Deluxe Vinyl, Standard Vinyl, CD and Download now “I wrote this album around the story of John Brown - an abolitionist in the mid 1800s and an almost mythical American figure, whose audacious takeover of the armoury at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, was one of the immediate factors that tipped the country into Civil War. It’s a story that holds the complexity and tragedy of America in one moment, and it felt important to engage with it now. Musically, I didn’t want a big band or an orchestra - I wanted something in between, almost like a slightly unruly village band, working with what they have available: guitar, violin, clarinet, trombone, rhythm section. I was imagining a certain sound: Copland, Blues and gospel and African rhythm all living in the same space. I was thinking about Bill Frisell’s sound as I wrote, knowing Nate would anchor it and that each of these musicians would bring their own interpretation and personality to it. It started as a bit of a hope and a prayer, but when everyone leaned in with seriousness and focus, it felt to me like the music took on a life of its own and became larger than any one of us.” Chris Potter Formats: Deluxe Vinyl (available from Edition Records), Vinyl, CD and Digital Recorded at Sear Sound, NYC on 24th - 26th March, 2025 Recorded by Chris Allen Assistant Engineer: Maximilian Troppe Mixed by Chris Allen at Second Take Sound Studio B Mastered by Nate Wood Album artwork by Oli Bentley, Split Album out 8 May 2026 on Edition Records Photos by @_davestapleton