• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Website of Steve Neff

  • BLOG
  • SHOP
  • MY ACCOUNT
  • RAVES
  • CONTACT

Search Neffmusic

You are here: Home / Jazz Education / Transcriptions of Chris Potter On Rhythm Changes

Transcriptions of Chris Potter On Rhythm Changes

January 30, 2015 by Steve 23 Comments

Here are two short transcriptions of solos Chris Potter did on a March 8, 2008 Masterclass. The bootleg was floating around the internet (www.dimeadozen.org) and I was lucky enough to grab it. In these two examples Chris is showing the differences in his playing style from when he was younger to now.

The first solo is pretty straight forward rhythmically and he is sticking pretty close to the changes and a standard bebop type approach. The second solo (I call it “Potterized Rhythm Changes”) is a bit more advanced. He’s taking more liberties harmonically and rhythmically. The second “Potterized Version”  much harder to transcribe and some parts were difficult to figure out rhythmically but I did my best. These are two great examples of how to play over rhythm changes and take it away from the standard bebop sound. Really check out the rhythmic approach on the “Potterized” version.   Enjoy!

https://cdn.neffmusic.com/2015/January/Potter%20Simple%20RC.mp3

 

Potter Simple Rhythm Changes Solo Revised

https://cdn.neffmusic.com/2015/January/Potterized%20RC.mp3

 

Potterized Rhythm Changes Revised

*If you would like to support me here at neffmusic.com, you can do so on the support page of my store by debit or credit card.   Any support is appreciated and will go towards keeping this site running, saxophone reeds, mouthpiece patches, coffee, and towards justifying the many hours I spend on providing free transcriptions to the saxophone community!  Thanks,   Steve

If you like these type of outside modern sounding lines like I do, be sure to check out my Devastating Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing for Minor and Dominant Grooves. These two books are filled with great modern 16th note lines in all 12 keys that you can learn and use while soloing. Check out all the 5 star reviews! Steve

DevastatingFrontCoverAdDevastating Minor Lines for Jazz and Funk Soloing

DevastatingDominantAdDevastating Dominant Lines for Jazz & Funk

Filed Under: Jazz Education, Transcriptions Tagged With: chris potter, rhythm changes, solo, tenor sax

Steve

About Steve

Steve Neff has been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the New England area for over 30 years. He is the author of many best selling jazz improvisation methods as well as founding the popular jazz video lesson site Neffmusic.com.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarSam Miles says

    June 11, 2010 at 6:54 am

    Hi
    I was wondering if you had the recording of the potterised rhythm changes. If so i was wondering if it would be possible to send it to my email address. It would be an amazing amount of help.
    cheers sam

    Reply
  2. AvatarDavid says

    July 29, 2010 at 9:02 pm

    Hi steve!

    I was wondering if you could send me audio to go with the transcriptions?

    thanks in advance steve!

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      July 31, 2010 at 9:42 pm

      contact me on my website and I can send them to you.

      Reply
  3. AvatarBenjamin says

    November 19, 2010 at 10:32 pm

    Great Site!!!. Thanks for shearing your pation!.
    Is there any chance you send me the audio of the 2 examples you´ve transcribed?
    Thanks!!

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      November 21, 2010 at 5:06 pm

      Send me an email on the contact form of my site and I’ll send them to you. Steve

      Reply
  4. AvatarScott says

    November 23, 2012 at 4:27 pm

    Could you send me those mp3s please?

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      December 1, 2012 at 12:52 pm

      Hi Scott, I emailed them to you. Steve

      Reply
  5. AvatarJosh G-W says

    January 14, 2013 at 11:51 pm

    I’d love to get the mp3s as well if possible. Hope it’s not too much trouble. Thanks!

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      January 18, 2013 at 9:40 am

      I just emailed them to you. Steve

      Reply
  6. AvatarAnton says

    January 28, 2013 at 9:04 pm

    Hey, it’d be fantastic if you could send me either of those mp3s. Also, fantastic transcriptions.
    Thanks

    Reply
  7. AvatarHannes says

    March 12, 2013 at 3:21 pm

    Steve, I’d love to hear those mp3’s if it’s not too much trouble

    Reply
  8. AvatarJeff Rodman says

    April 14, 2013 at 6:23 am

    Hi Steve,

    I’d really love to join the crowd and ask if you could find time to email the mp3s for the Chris Potter Rhythm Changes Masterclass.

    Thanks in advance

    Jeff

    Reply
  9. AvatarTim Harrington says

    July 4, 2013 at 7:56 pm

    Me too? -Audio file-

    Thanks so much,

    Tim

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      July 17, 2013 at 9:55 am

      Tim, I just sent you the mp3 file you asked for. Sorry for the delay. Steve

      Reply
  10. AvatarHa eun says

    July 20, 2013 at 1:05 am

    Could you send me those mp3s please? thanks so much.

    Reply
  11. AvatarAshim Bora says

    November 2, 2013 at 12:10 am

    Can you please send me the potter audio file for rhythm changes? THANKS.

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      November 4, 2013 at 1:14 pm

      Ashim, I just emailed them to you. Steve

      Reply
  12. AvatarJoe Robson says

    December 17, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    Hi Steve.
    I would just like to say thank to very much for sharing those transcriptions. I’m a huge fan of chris potter and enjoyed working my way through the solos. I like rhythm changes because you can really get a feel for what he’s doing with it being a progression we know so well.

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      December 18, 2013 at 11:15 pm

      Thanks Joe. No problem! I love this stuff as much as anyone! I’m glad you can benefit from it………..

      Reply
  13. AvatarPaolo Giuliani says

    January 22, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    Hi,
    I’ve just downloaded the two versions of Potter’s Rhythm Changes improvisation.
    If possible, could you please send me the mp3 files as well?
    Thanks much
    Paolo

    Reply
  14. AvatarJeff howlett says

    May 31, 2015 at 2:25 am

    Hi Steve. I would also love to have the Potter mp3s. Many thanks for your sterling work
    Jeff

    Reply
  15. AvatarAlex says

    May 31, 2015 at 10:09 am

    Thanks Steve for taking the time to share it with us!

    Reply
  16. AvatarEvan Gravelle says

    December 22, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    Hey there. Im just wondering if you have the ability to change the sheet music to concert? and if you could do that could you change it to bass clef? Just a bass player trying to get some good vocabulary. Thanks a million if you can do that.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Steve Neff

Cart

Subscribe to the Neffmusic Newsletter for the latest reviews and best deals delivered straight to your inbox every month. Join now and you will also receive my 40 Ultimate Michael Brecker Licks free!

Select list(s) to subscribe to


Thanks for joining!


NEFFMUSIC PRINTED BOOKS

Testimonials

Just to say thanks for your advice and lessons.  I’ve just read your amazing story.  I really appreciate what you do in regards to teaching.  I have bought a couple of your lessons and frankly they’re undersold.   I’ve learned much more with these two lessons than with 2 years of sax teachers.   Thanks so much………..
Mike

Never really had lessons before just kinda worked things out on my own. Was in a rut but your lessons are really helpful in opening melodic possibilities. Ur an awesome resource to the saxophone community. Thanks for sharing. 

Anthony

Steve,  Just want to say thanks for all you are doing for all of us. I’ve learned more from you than anyone else in my 40 years of playing.

If you can give some tips on One Note Samba, Ceora, and Wave… that would be cool.  I really like learning how you apply your concepts to actual songs!

Have a great year,

Kevin Ledbetter

I've learned more from you than anyone else in my 40 years of playing.
Hi Steve, I live in a gorgeous but rural area of Oregon-no music store within 80 miles. Your lessons are my lifeline!  Truly the best there are anywhere online. Love your playing. Love your teaching.  Thanks again. Ed
Ed Woodmansee
Steve’s monthly lessons are entirely valuable. Without brow beating, he tells you all the stuff you deep down know you really should be working on, instead of just relying on the same old patterns. In spite of the fact that you’re taking a video lesson, Steve’s presentation is comfortable and “real”. In a little more than a year, he’s developed a library of lessons that seem to offer any player a lifetime’s worth of practice material. I’m just glad I stumbled upon it.… Read more
Grant

Steve, just a note to say thanks.

I’ve been playing a long time, but your material, laid out in such a thoughtful way, helps me to understand concepts in a new and deeper way.

You are a true gift to the jazz community.

60 lessons and going strong,

Kevin Ledbetter

Kevin Ledbetter
Thank you so much for the great job you are doing to help further our jazz studies. Though I make my living as a repairer of musical instruments I am a student of jazz and have been fortunate enough to be involved with a big band and a combo for the last several years. As my children began to leave “the nest” I had decided to dedicate the next half of my life to a more serious study of the sax but I didn’t know exactly how I would go about doing this until a friend of mine turned me onto your si… Read more
Jon

I am enjoying your style of teaching, and you’ve done a great job with the videos….good sound quality and well constructed lessons.  Balances the more guitaristic material found on the majority of guitar based programs.  Jazz vocab is what I’m all about at this point in the journey.  I especially dig the fact that you’ve studied with Bergonzi…helps me see his voluminous output in a more bite sized way.

Milton

Steve,

I have played for many years and have enjoyed going “back to the basics” in some of your lessons!  You have such a gift for explaining concepts.  As I have gotten older, some of the basic things have gotten muddled because I just play, not knowing why.  As I refresh myself with “why”, it increases my confidence and expands my playing.  Thank you so much for using your gift!  You are a blessing!

Julia
I just joined Neff Music last month. I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been to be able to pick back up on lessons. I’ve been in a rut and you got me out! I’ve especially appreciated the Lesson Path section. It was so clear I knew exactly where to jump in and start. Many many thanks!
Karin
Hey Steve! I hope you and your family are well.  I’m just writing to say thank you so much for all the resources you have made available to the saxophone community. I have been using your material for many years and I always come back to it… in fact I just took a break from practicing to write this…( reviewing “CreatingModern II-V-I Lines with simple pentatonics”.) I am, and continue to be, one of your raving fans! Blessings to you and your family this holiday season! Wishing… Read more
Gerry Aylward
I just started looking at my lessons and I have to say, dude you are awesome.  I ABSOLUTELY will learn from you!  I started the tenor about 1 ½ yrs ago and have since picked up an alto, and more recently a soprano.  I spend most of the time on the tenor, followed by soprano, and have only gotten to the alto a few times.  I think I’ll be sticking with tenor.  I’m having a great time and hope one day to play well enough to get regular gigs.  I’ve been playing keys for about 35 years (… Read more
Wil
I’m an experienced player in the pop/soul/funk areas of music and, previously, classical.  Over the decades I’ve been playing, I’ve always felt that I could do what I needed in those styles of music.  However, recently I began to feel limited by my use of the same old licks. When I discovered Steve Neff’s website, and heard the audio examples based on the exercises in his books, I realized they were what I needed.  I purchased all of them and have been working on them since.  It’s very hard work… Read more
Paul

Thank You Steve. I think that I will be busy for years. Thank You for your great contribution to jazz music. Your books, more than teaching “how to play jazz”, actually teach “how to speak jazz”. I wish I found your methods years ago.  

Jean-Eric
Thank you for the wealth of helpful lessons you’ve provided over the years.  I truly feel as though it has improved my playing more than the 4 years I spent at Berklee… and that’s not a slight on the school as I loved my experience there.
John
John

I must say again how much I appreciate all your material. Including the video tutorials. It help keep me focused and knowing what to aim for. And your laid back teaching style appeals to me too. 

Thanks

P

P
I’ve been having ‘ online’  lessons with Steve for a few months now. Being a teacher myself I had had some reservations with the idea at first and the practicalities of it .  Let me just say that my playing has taken a huge leaps forward while studying with Steve and continues to do so.Steve studied with some renowned player/teachers such as Bergonzi and Garzone– this in itself is invaluable but Steve teaches from his own books, which cover a a vast amount of  jazz language. Steve h… Read more
David

Hello Steve,

I just want to say thank you so much for your unbelievable work, it is just mind opening, thanks for sharing it.

Wolfgang from Berlin

Wolfgang from Berlin
I’ve been downloading your lessons for 4 months now (20 lesson) and I have noticed tremendous growth in my playing thus far! I’m so happy that I stumbled upon your site!
Bob

Hello Steve,

I have not received my alto yet but have already gone through 14 lessons. I love your approach, style, knowledge and competence. I now regret so much to have stayed away from playing the sax for the past 45-50 years…(I am 65).  But It is never too late to get back to your first love. After 23 years in compuer sciences and 22 years in finances…I am now back to music for the rest of my life.

Doing some research on the net, I found this:

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?1… Read more

Claude
I can’t say enough about my membership at Neff Music. Steve has taken the mystery out of playing the saxophone well and improvising both jazz and rock music. Like most struggling players I have a load of all sorts of books on my shelf just gathering dust. Books that I didn’t understand or know how to put to use…or just have the time to go threw them. Steve’s lessons really simplify things and he puts it in a way that I can understand. They inspire me to keep pushing and having him as my guide or… Read more
Ken
I can see from your instructional videos that you are a fantastic teacher – one that can truly relate to all ages – humble yet very positive in approach – never coming across as superior and yet so totally capable of demonstrating the principles and techniques that you seek to impart to the students. I have gained so much confidence in my playing from “pouring over” time and again these invaluable lessons. Invaluable not only in musical content, but also in human interaction content. I am absolu… Read more
Ron
Hey Steve, My name is Jason Freese and I play keyboards and sax in the band Green Day.  I grew up taking sax lessons from Eric Marienthal when I was a kid and got out of it for a long time. I ran into you on youtube while searching for sax stuff. I bought a whole bunch of your lessons and have been loving it! Thanks! Here is my wikipedia so you can see the albums I’ve played on….Thanks again. It’s sparked my interest in practicing again.   Jason
Jason Freese (sax player for Green Day)
I’ve been a member of Steve’s site for about six months now and the difference it has made to my playing is immeasurable. The (many) benefits of this membership are that you can have lessons at time convenient to you, they work out A LOT cheaper than face-to-face lessons with a teacher of the same calibre and you can replay them ad infinitum. I don’t know how many times have I had lessons in the past where I’ve ended up covering the same concepts when really a ‘replay’ of the last lesson would h… Read more
Nick

Featured Video Lessons

  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $19.99 Original price was: $19.99.$14.99Current price is: $14.99.
  • The Secret to Modern Outside Jazz Lines Lesson-Minor The Secret to Modern Outside Jazz Lines Lesson-Minor $9.99
  • Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson
    Rated 4.91 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Secret to Altissimo (no one has ever told you about before) Lesson The Secret to Altissimo (no one has ever told you about before) Lesson
    Rated 4.75 out of 5
    $9.99

Now over 600 video and audio lessons to choose from!

Free Lessons

  • Free Lesson on The New Ultimate II-V-I Primer-Major Keys
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering Altered Pentatonics
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering the Blues Scale Volume 1 & 2
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale and Language Book 1 & 2
  • Free Video Lesson on Approach Note Velocity Book

Recent reviews

  • Practicing Double-Time Licks Lesson Practicing Double-Time Licks Lesson
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Az Samad
  • Bebop Scale-Altered Scale II-V-I Practice Lesson Bebop Scale-Altered Scale II-V-I Practice Lesson by Noah
  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) by Andy
  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Russ
  • Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Timothy

Footer

Recent Comments

  • Nick Ernest Palise on Theo Wanne Brahma Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Johnny Hedlund on The Boston Sax Shop Red Label Custom Tenor Saxophone Reeds Review
  • Darin on Revisiting a Lamberson J7 Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • John Demsher on Theo Wanne Brahma Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Angelo Yodice on The Boston Sax Shop Red Label Custom Tenor Saxophone Reeds Review

Top rated products

  • Mastering the Major Bebop Scale & Sound (Digital PDF Book) Mastering the Major Bebop Scale & Sound (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Tune of the Week-Softly as a Morning Sunrise Lesson Tune of the Week-Softly as a Morning Sunrise Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Style of Dexter Gordon-Lady Bird Lesson 1 The Style of Dexter Gordon-Lady Bird Lesson 1
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Tune of the Week-Days of Wine and Roses Lesson Tune of the Week-Days of Wine and Roses Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Tune of the Week-Invitation Tune of the Week-Invitation
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99

Product tags

alto sax alto saxophone approach notes audio lesson bebop scale beginner beginner saxophone blues blues licks blues patterns blues scale blues scales diminished scale dominant chords ear training fundamentals II-V-I improvisation jazz improvisation jazz lines jazz patterns jazz sax jazz saxophone jazz standard jazz standards licks Mastering the Blues Scale Michael Brecker modern improv modern improvisation online lesson patterns playing outside practice habits reading music sax basics sax lessons saxophone scales smooth jazz steve neff tenor sax tenor saxophone video lesson video lessons
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • SUPPORT

Neffmusic © 2005–2025