Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105468 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-30
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Synopsis
"The Real Books" are the best-selling jazz books of all time. Since the 1970s, musicians have trusted these volumes to get them through every gig, night after night. Hal Leonard Europe is very proud to present the sixth edition of this important songbook, featuring tunes that have been re-arranged and re-transcribed, as well as music by some of the most significant songwriters of the last 60 years. Every conscientious musician will appreciate that these books are now produced accurately and ethically, benefiting the songwriters that we owe for some of the greatest tunes of all time! This volume is for bass clef instruments.

Customer Reviews

Good Jazz Real Book but.......
I just came across this and thought i should add a comment regarding the previous review. Yes their are a few good standards notably missing from the 6th edition Real Book (approx 143 on comparison of 5th and 6th ed contents lists), however as a trombone player their are some marked improvements for example the notes are now pitched within the trombone register, many of the numbers missing from the new edition struck me as being obscure jazz numbers but at least 25 of the missing 143 numbers should have been in the new 6th edition and 13 are mandatory classic such as- 'The Shadow of your Smile','A Call to all Demons','As time goes by', 'Gentle Rain', 'The more i see you', 'Serenade to a Cuckoo', 'The Duke' and 'What is this thing called love'. Having purchased the new 6th Edition I'm going to have about a dozen loose sheets at the back to cover these classics. Hal Leonard has put a number of new pieces in the 6th ed which were not in the previous edition. Also its now possible to purchase this book legally and also fairly quickly from many outlets such as Amazon. The book is by no means perfect and clearly the Hal Leonard Corp set a modest budget in mind when marketing the new Real Book, that being the case their are some notable errors both in melodic line (see for example Polka Dots and Moonbeams p.318 vol 2) and Harmonic Sequences. The last point has a number of Jazz Musicians up in arms because some of the original chord sequences where actually much better than the replaced ones. For example John Coltranes 'Equinox' in the 5th Ed Real Book was in the key of C minor, a great key for us trombone players, however in the 6th Ed the key has been moved to C# minor which is not a great key to play in unless you know all the tricks. I'm going to assume that many of the missing classics previously mentioned were not cost effective to add to this book. Thats a shame as many people will still want to play those numbers and probably will. So i wonder who looses out here?

Given the faults i still think go buy this book because it gives you access to a good large collection of 'Jazz Standards' and also its priced very competitively against other Real Books. Infact its actually cheaper to buy the legal 6th Ed than it would be to buy the illegal 5th Ed in PDF and then have to print off the entire thing and put into a ring binder. Its been said by other reviewers and i think their is some truth in it-that it is likely in five years time the Hal Leonard 6th Edition will be the standard fake book we'll all be referencing to when we talk and play from the 70's Real Book series. I hope this modest review has been helpful to fellow trombonists and also bassists who may also consider this book.

Real Book - Bass Clef edition
The bass clef edition of the Real Book is an excellent resource for gigging, especially for trombonists. Musical flaws in the book are virtually nil, but all music is taken down an octave with scant regard for what range it enters, and whether the original pitch might have worked for low instruments. On the whole this makes playing easier, but there are areas where it is unnecessary. Another issue is with missing pieces. Missing standards are too many to mention, and Hal Leonard has made up for this by including various pieces which one is very unlikely to play in a gig (the theme from Alice in Wonderland and suchlike). Notable absentees include: Autumn Leaves, Donna Lee, You'd be so nice to come home to, Doxy, Moanin' (Timmons AND Mingus), Tenor madness and MANY more. Finally, the work has used a plastic comb (ring-binder type device), and I would question its durability.

This shouldn't put you off too much. This probably the most comprehensive Real Book (including equivalents) for bass clef on the market, and is a very useful companion for the jazz trombonist, but don't expect an exhaustive list of pieces (and you'll be sure to find at least one favourite missing).