Steve Potts (born January 21, 1943, in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

saxophonist. Playing mainly

alto sax The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E, smaller th ...

and occasionally

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

, Potts is best known for his 30-year partnership with fellow saxophonist

Steve Lacy Steve Thomas Lacy-Moya (born May 23, 1998) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He gained recognition as the guitarist of the alternative R&B band the Internet, which he joined in 2015. His self-produced debut EP, '' ...

. A cousin of tenor saxophonist

Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All Ab ...

, Potts studied architecture in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and took lessons from saxophonist Charles Lloyd. Afterwards he went to New York where he was student of

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and bandleader. Primarily an alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and flautist, Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain ...

and performed with

Roy Ayers Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...

, Richard Davis,

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and very occasional flute player. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day an ...

Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey, in addition to Alice Coltrane, Mal Waldron, Max Roach, Archie Shepp, Tri ...

, and

Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, f ...

. In 1970 he moved to Europe to live in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He performed with

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

Slide Hampton Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombone, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tub ...

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

Hal Singer Harold Joseph Singer (October 8, 1919 – August 18, 2020), also known as Hal "Cornbread" Singer, was an American R&B and jazz bandleader and saxophonist. Early life Harold Joseph Singer was born in Greenwood, an African-American district ...

Christian Escoudé Christian Escoudé (23 September 1947 – 13 May 2024) was a French Gypsy jazz guitarist. Escoudé grew up in Angoulême and was of Romani descent on his father's side. His father was also a guitarist who was influenced by Django Reinhardt. Whe ...

Boulou Ferré Boulou Ferré (born Jean-Jacques Ferret, 24 April 1951) is a French virtuoso jazz guitarist, composer, arranger, and improviser. He is the brother of Elios Ferré, also a jazz musician, with whom he has recorded widely. His repertoire includes ja ...

, and Oliver Johnson. Around 1973 he met

and played in his groups for 30 years. Potts also produced film scores.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

*''Great Day in the Morning'' with

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

, 1982 *''Cross Roads'', 1979 *''People'', 1986 *'' Flim-Flam'' (hat ART, 1986

991 Year 991 (Roman numerals, CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Peace and Truce of God, Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I o ...

with Steve Lacy *''Thank You for Being'', 1995 *''Mukta'', 1998 *''Pearl'', 1990 *''Wet Spot'', 2000

As sideman

With

*'' The Gamut'' (Solid State, 1968) *''

The Head Hunters ''The Head Hunters'' is an album by American jazz drummer Chico Hamilton featuring performances recorded in 1968 and originally released on the Solid State label.Payne, D.Solid State Records discographyaccessed June 30, 2015 Reception The Allm ...

'' (Solid State, 1969) With

*''

Mal Waldron with the Steve Lacy Quintet ''Mal Waldron with the Steve Lacy Quintet'' is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy released on the French America label in 1972.

'' (America, 1972) *''The Gap'' (America, 1972) *''The Crust'' (Emanem, 1973) *''Scraps'' (Saravah, 1974) *''Flakes'' (RCA Vista, 1974) *''Dreams'' (Saravah, 1975) *''Raps'' (Adelphi, 1977) *''Follies'' (FMP, 1977) *''The Owl'' (Saravah, 1977) *''Points'' (Chant Du Monde, 1978) * ''

Stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

'' (HatHut, 1979) *''

Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed ...

'' (Black Saint, 1979) *'' The Way'' (Hathut, 1979

980 Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...

*''Tips'' (Hathut, 1979) *''

Songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

'' (hat ART, 1981) with

Brion Gysin Brion Gysin (19 January 1916 – 13 July 1986) was a British-Canadian painter, writer, sound poet, performance artist and inventor of experimental devices. He is best known for his use of the cut-up technique, alongside his close friend, the ...

*''Ballets'' (Hathut, 1981) *'' Blinks'' (Hathut, 1983) *'' Prospectus'' (hat ART, 1983) also released as ''Cliches'' *''Futurities'' (Hathut, 1984) *''The Condor'' (Soul Note, 1985) *'' The Gleam'' (Silkheart, 1986) *''

Morning Joy ''Morning Joy'', subtitled ''Live at Sunset Paris'' is a live album by saxophonist Steve Lacy which was recorded in France in 1986 and first released on the hat ART label in 1989.

'' (Hathut, 1986) *''Live in Budapest'' (West Wind, 1987) *''

Momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (: momenta or momentums; more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. ...

'' (Novus, 1987) *'' The Window'' (Novus, 1988) *'' The Door'' (Novus, 1989) *''

Anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

'' (Novus, 1990) *''

Itinerary Itinerary or Itineraries or Itinerarium may refer to: Travel * Itinerarium, an Ancient Roman road map in the form of a listing of cities, villages, and other stops, with the intervening distances * ''Itinerarium Burdigalense'', also known as the ...

'' (Hathut, 1991) *'' Live at Sweet Basil'' (RCA Novus, 1992) *''

Clangs ''Clangs'' is a live album by soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy featuring a double sextet, which was recorded in Germany in 1992 and released on the Swiss hat ART label in 1993.

'' (hat ART, 1993) *'' We See'' (Hathut, 1993) *''

Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

'' (Soul Note, 1993) *''

Revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

'' (Soul Note, 1993)

Film scores

*''Sujet ou Le secrétaire aux 1001 tiroirs'', 1975 *''Bengali Night'', 1988 *''Louise (take 2)'', 1998

External links

* http://www.stevepotts.net/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Steve 1943 births American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Living people World Saxophone Quartet members 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians