The Real Book - Volume II: Bass Clef Edition [Plastic Comb]

Hal Leonard Corp. (Creator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2006

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. The problem is that the books were illegally produced and distributed without any copyrights or royalties paid to the master composers who created these musical canons. Hal Leonard is very proud to present the first legitimate and legal editions of these books ever produced. You won't even notice the difference...the covers look the same, the engravings look the same, the songlist is nearly identical, and the price remains fair even on a musician's salary! But every conscientious musician will appreciate that these books are now produced legally and ethically, benefitting the songwriters that we owe for some of the greatest music ever written! 400 songs, including: Air Mail Special * Birdland * Bye Bye Blackbird * Caravan * Doxy * Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words) * Georgia * Girl Talk * In Walked Bud * I Remember You * I Thought About You * The Jody Grind * Just the Way You Are * Killer Joe * Little Sunflower * Mercy, Mercy, Mercy * Moanin' * The Nearness of You * Now's the Time * Old Devil Moon * Phase Dance * St. Thomas * Speak Low * Stardust * Tangerine * Tenor Madness * Watch What Happens * Whisper Not * Willow Weep for Me * Yardbird Suite * and more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Founded in 1947, Hal Leonard Corporation has become the worlds largest print music publisher, representing some of the greatest songwriters and artists of all time. We are proud to publish titles of interest to all musicians as well as music lovers, from songbooks and instructional titles to artist biographies and instrument price guides to books about the music industry and all the performing arts.

Product Details

• Plastic Comb: 438 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation (February 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0634060791
• ISBN-13: 978-0634060793
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 10.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Addition to Any Fake Book Collection, December 2, 2008

By 

Professor Challenger "The Ideator" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real Book - Volume II: Bass Clef Edition (Plastic Comb)

I love this book. There are a lot of good tunes with great jazz melodies.

The book is thinner than Volume 1, but it also has some more modern tunes in it, like Havona by Weather Report, Farmer's Trust by Pat Metheny, Locomotion, Just the Way You Are (Billy Joel), Morning Dance (Spyro Gyra), Phase Dance (Metheny), Prisoner of Love, and Song for Bilbao (Metheny). I was thrilled to find a tune that the Manhattan Transfer recorded on their Mecca for Moderns CD called Until I Met You. I remember hunting for it years ago and couldn't find it.

I also compared the songs in the Real Book Volume 2 to "The New York Ninety", a list of tunes compiled by a gigging New York jazz musician. The New York Ninety represents the 90 tunes you need to know if you want to be ready for just about anything at a jazz gig in New York.

Most of the songs on the New York Ninety are from the Real Book, Volume 1, and the Chuck Sher The New Real Book series. However, the Real Book Volume 2 has three songs from the New York Ninety in it.

But in its defense, The Real Book Volume 2 also has a lot of songs I've seen in the Jamey Aebersold jazz instruction books. It also has a lot of songs I've heard played live a lot, such as Doxy, Mr. Magic, Morning Dance, Route 66, This Masquerade, Until I Met You, Yardbird Suite, Affirmation and Comin' Home Baby.

I also found that by simply reading through some of the tunes I don't know, I found some really interesting songs that I could see myself recommending to my band eventually.

So, there's enough here to justify the price of this book. I recommend it very highly to anyone who wants to play standards, sight-read some interesting tunes, and get a small but significant smattering of more contemporary music.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for bass players, July 17, 2007

By 

Ali B (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real Book - Volume II: Bass Clef Edition (Plastic Comb)

Beyond useful! It's great to have so many more songs, further to the excellent Volume 1. Even for non-jazzers, these volumes are more than worth their cost just for the bass-clef sight-reading practice that they provide.