This onetime jazz prodigy is returning home to Columbia for first ColaJazz Festival

Grammy-nominated artist Chris Potter will headline the inaugural ColaJazz Festival on Saturday, Feb. 3.

Potter, who grew up in Columbia and and graduated from Dreher High School before attending the Manhattan School of Music, is “arguably the best living saxophonist in jazz,” a ColaJazz news release states. He burst onto the jazz scene in 1989 New York City when he began performing as an 18-year-old prodigy with bebop icon Red Rodney.

Potter has since released more than 15 albums as a band leader and has recorded and performed with countless music greats from Pat Metheny to Steeley Dan. In 2014, he was named the No. 1 tenor saxophone player in the world by Down Beat magazine’s annual reader’s poll.

This is the first ColaJazz Festival, presented in partnership with the Music Farm Columbia, where the event will be held. The festival will also feature internationally acclaimed Wynton Marsalis sideman and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra member, saxophonist Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson. “Natural History,” Warmdaddy’s comeback CD, was a collaboration with trumpeter and ColazJazz founder Mark Rapp recorded at High Fidelity Recordings in Columbia.

Joining Potter and Anderson on the festival lineup are top local jazz favorites such as the Reggie Sullivan Band, Soda City Brass Band, and the ColaJazz All-Stars. This lineup of award-winning talent includes Amos Hoffman, Mitch Butler, Robert Gardiner, Bert Ligon, Danny Boozer, Sam Edwards, and young saxophone phenom Ben Eidson.

The ColaJazz All-Stars highlight the world-class jazz being made here in our own backyard, which is core to the mission of ColaJazz.

The Music Farm will be transformed into a giant jazz club, complete with cocktail table seating, couches, a VIP section and mood lighting. Food vendors will be on-site, along with a full bar.

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 12:26 PM with the headline "This onetime jazz prodigy is returning home to Columbia for first ColaJazz Festival."