Real Book history

Jack

Hi all,

For you other chart-hounds out there, there's an interesting history of The Real Book here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Book

Specifically, this is the part that caught my attention:

Bassist Steve Swallow and pianist Paul Bley are rumored to have been responsible for producing lead sheets for the book. This would explain why compositions by Swallow, Bley, and their friends (e.g., Chick Corea) are heavily represented in The Real Book alongside jazz standards and classic jazz compositions. There is also speculation that composer Stu Balcomb was heavily involved in putting the book together, given his credit in Swallow's album "Real Book" as "cover designer", and given the presence of several of his tunes in the book. The handwriting in the Real Book matches that in the liner notes for the album as well, suggesting that the whole book was written out by Swallow...

...A variety of dates have been attributed to the book. The April 1990 issue of Esquire magazine featured The Real Book in the "Man At His Best" column by Mark Roman, in an article called "Clef Notes." He states, "I don't know a jazzman who hasn't owned, borrowed, or Xeroxed pages from a Real Book at least once in his career," and he quotes John Voigt, Berklee's music librarian, "The Real Book came out around 1971. The only material available in print then was crap."

Interesting! To me, anyway-I always wondered why Chick Corea and some others were so well represented.

Best,
Jack.

pallopenna

This makes sense, but also, as I recall the Real Book first appeared in the 70s when Chick's music was very popular, especially around Berklee. I still fondly remember going to the CopyCops across Boylston St. from Berklee to buy my first copy. What's curious is that, though Swallow's music is well represented, Carla Bley's isn't. On the other hand, her music depends so much on her arrangements that the RB probably isn't the right venue for most of her stuff. But it's great stuff.

-Paul

Ken Bloom

Before the days of the Real Book I remember a series of little folios called Just Jazz. Most of the tunes in this series ended up in the Real Book and the caligraphic style was the same. This was back in the late fifties, early sixties. I got them from my sax teacher. I have no idea where he got them from but I suspect they were passed around amongst players from the Union. This was in LA, too many decades ago.

Ken Bloom