Drummer/band leader Dave Potter will release a new recording, “Retro Groove,” on March 22 via Square Biz Records.
A native of North Carolina, Potter began playing drum set in high school and started performing in the Raleigh-Durham area at the age of 16.
Following his graduation from Florida State University, Potter was chosen from a national pool of applicants to be a member of the Louis Armstrong Quintet at the University of New Orleans.
Unfortunately, the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina temporarily ended his hopes for a career in Louisiana. Soon after, Potter was awarded a full scholarship to the Julliard Jazz Program in New York City. However, after several days of intense meditation he declined the offer and returned to Florida State University, where he received his master’s degree after further collaboration with his mentor Marcus Roberts.
In 2010, Potter was featured in a novel titled “The New Face of Jazz” about the younger generation of jazz musicians making an impact in the current scene.
Potter is now located in Atlanta, where he maintains a busy teaching and performing schedule while also touring the globe as a member of The Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet as well as his new project as a leader, Retro Groove.
Retro Groove was formed out of the desire to solve a decades old question from audience members about why jazz bands don’t play more modern recognizable songs.
Going back to his first musical exposures, Potter found an ample well to draw from. Popular music from the 1980s. This catalog provided compositions that had the necessary harmonic and rhythmic structures that were malleable enough to insert the Jazz conception. Keeping swing and jazz improvisatory language at the forefront of these arrangements was key and the two years spent searching for the right balance of all these elements was a necessary labor of love. The result is project featuring jazz-flavored arrangements of modern classics from Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Peter Gabriel, Prince, The Doobie Brothers, etc. that will be sure to excite both jazz enthusiasts and fans of pop music alike.
