Jazz Fake Book?

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azraelswings

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Anyone have recomendations for a jazz fake book? There are so many ultimate supreme mega fake books I haven't a clue which is which.
 
The one to get used to be one Hal Leonard is selling legit now. It has been sold since the 70s in music stores lucky enough to get it, or you could go to a big city and buy it on the corner from a guy named Guido or Mickey. The thing that set it apart from legit books at the time was that the songs were lifted from actual performances by the artists, rather than a watered-down version in the wrong key like a lot of legit fake books.

I worked at a music store until 2002. We got them in a box marked "music stands" from a guy in CT with a big photocopier in his house.(Really) :D

It is called The Real Book. Real Book

Looks like HL is selling it legit now:eek:. End of an era. Alwayslearnin listed some good ones. They do have different focuses. The real book has a bit of everything, but like 700 tunes the last I checked. Look around and find one that seems to fit.

Beware- it is a fake book in the "real" sense. It does have the right chords, and the songs are lifted from actual performances by the artists, but all you get is chord names and lead lines. No chord voicings.

Hard to go wrong with it, as it has the most cred among jazz musicians. I have played "Real Book gigs".

"What tunes we gonna play?"
"Just bring your Real Book."

BTW there are a load of real, accurate note-for-note transcriptions out there, if you dig a certain person's playing, and I am a huge Jamie Aebersold fan.
 
Thanks for the tip Boingo. That looks like a very comprehensive collection. I met an old timer (age = late 80's) in Florida who had played in a "Big Band" for decades (still does). His song book is a binder about four inches thick with dirty old dog-earred pages and contains about every song you could think of.
 
Get the "Real Book". It will have the greatest amount of tunes you need to know, and every player is familliar with it (even the mistakes). Take it with you on gigs until you learn enough tunes to leave it home.

Buy the legit one I guess, but this marks the end of an era. Tracking down one of the old illegal ones used to be a rite of passage for folks who wanted to play jazz.
 
my illegal one got stolen, how ironic! I got a legit one and it's great. get that one. he's right about abersold, you'll freakin' need it if you wanna play for real. oh or band in a box, that'll help you do some woodshedin'
 
There are quite a few tunes missing from the Hal Leonard legal edition of The Real Book when compared against the original collection. Still, it's a good buy, and most of the mistakes of the earlier editions are corrected.
 
I was a jazz studies major during the days of the illegal "Real Book." Some of the head arrangements were good. But, just as many sucked.

You just need to make a laundry list of songs you want to cover. Then, see if any of the new legit versions of the Real Book cover what you want.
 
the newest realbook (legal version) is pretty correct, as far as I can tell. I was a jazz comp major for a bit at berklee college of music, and I had a buddy who took a class just on correcting lead sheets (some directly from the RB). rock on
 
azraelswings said:
woodshedding?
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practicin'

i got the best fake book ever. All 12 of the "non legit" ones on CD. i love it! gotta love havin' real jazz cats in town who can hook me up
 
OK i know absolutely nothing about Jazz but what in the hell are you guys talking about? How can publishing sheet music be illegal? This has peaked my interest.
 
Wireneck said:
OK i know absolutely nothing about Jazz but what in the hell are you guys talking about? How can publishing sheet music be illegal? This has peaked my interest.
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This book was produced without any compensation to those who owned the publishing rights. If you had a CD and I transcribed the tunes and sold the sheet music without paying you, that would be illegal.
 
I use the Real Book.

The first edition is *much* better than the second for standards and get the USA edition if you can.

You will definitly need definitive recordings of the tunes as well in order to do a decent version :)
 
Codmate said:
I use the Real Book.

The first edition is *much* better than the second for standards and get the USA edition if you can.

You will definitly need definitive recordings of the tunes as well in order to do a decent version :)
Click to expand...

Well then please, mention some definitive recordings :D
 
azraelswings said:
Well then please, mention some definitive recordings :D
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At the back of the Real Book they list the recordings they have used and consider 'definitive'.

Post some names of tunes though and I can give you my opinion for what it's worth ;)
 
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