Chris Potter On Standards Transcription Book

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chrispotter

Introduction

After reviewing Eli Bennett’s book on Chris Potter’s solos over standards, I was contacted by AJ Kluth who also has come out with his own Chris Potter Transcription book which analyzes Potter’s solo’s on Standards. AJ told me that this book was originally published in 2007, but five years later he was able to fix a few errors from the 1st publishing as well as switch Potter’s playing on “Lotus Blossom” to his solo on “Solar.”

Here is a snapshot with the contents to the new book.

The 2nd Edition is 78 pages long and features an introduction, biography, and discography of the tunes transcribed.

The transcriptions included are:
Solar from Introducing Chris Potter (alto)
You and the Night and the Music from Concentric Circles (alto)
Giant Steps from Concord Duo Series Vol. 10 (tenor)
The Source from Gratitude (tenor)
High Noon from Gratitude (tenor)
Body and Soul from Gratitude (bass clarinet or tenor)
Star Eyes from Gratitude (alto)
Children Go from Traveling Mercies (tenor)
7.5 from Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard (tenor)
Stella by Starlight from Lift: Live at the Village Vanguard (tenor)

Overall Impression

Since I first purchased the 1st edition of AJ’s Chris Potter on Standards book a couple years ago, I was overall very impressed that AJ took the time to study one of the most popular tenor saxophonist currently playing today. I do appreciate some of the revisions AJ made to the 2nd edition by correcting the few errors and adding additional comments to various pieces. This gives the player the most accurate depiction of how Chris played these popular standards. I found the introduction, the biography on Chris Potter and the selection of tunes to be a great place to start for any saxophonist trying to understand Potter’s solo’s.

Although many may already know this, Chris Potter played alto saxophone for quite some time and I was excited to see that AJ included 3 tunes (Solar, You and The Night and The Music, and Star Eyes) which gives you an understanding of how musically and technically advanced Potter is when it comes to playing the saxophone.

Suggestions

I would have liked to have seen a C.D. included like Eli’s Potter transcription book where the C.D. contained Potter playing on each tune. This is not a major issue but it would have been a nice addition. Overall, I can tell AJ put a lot of hours into transcribing each tune in regards to the notes, rhythm, phrasing, dynamics, etc.

If you are into Chris Potter’s playing or have recently been listening to some of his C.D.’s, I would suggest you check out AJ’s book as a starting point. I believe this book will help the player understand what Potter is playing as well as a good reference if you are going to transcribe one of the tune’s yourself.

To find out more information, please check out AJ’s website listed below.

URL

http://ajkluth.com/chris-potter-on-standards

Amazon Link

Chris Potter on Standards