Mikkel McAvenon, a producer who delved into the clandestine history of The Real Book, joins forces with jazz musician and educator Steve Swallow, who contributed to its creation. They discuss how this unlicensed collection became essential for jazz musicians since the 1970s, transforming jazz education. The episode dives into the tensions between unauthorized musical resources and personal expression, the evolution of fake books, and the cultural legacy left by this iconic compendium, illuminating the vibrant chaos that is jazz.
41:54
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
The Real Book's Importance
Mikkel McAlvanah's guitar teacher advised him to buy a Real Book, essential for serious musicians.
His high school teacher bought his first Real Book from a man on a street corner near Berklee College of Music.
insights INSIGHT
Illegality and Codification of Jazz
The Real Book was illegal due to its unlicensed nature, with photocopied music sold discreetly.
This reflected the challenges of codifying an improvisational art form like jazz into a learnable format.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Kernfeld's Inquiry
Musicologist and saxophonist Barry Kernfeld's curiosity about the Real Book's origins arose during a gig.
This prompted him to investigate the history of jazz and music piracy, leading him to the Tune Decks.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In *The Story of Fake Books: Bootlegging Songs to Musicians*, Barry Kernfeld delves into the history of fake books, tracing their rise in popularity among musicians and the legal challenges faced by their publishers. The book provides insight into the intersection of music, law, and culture, highlighting the impact of these unauthorized song collections on the music industry.
The 99% Invisible City
A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design
Roman Mars
Kurt Kohlstedt
The 99% Invisible City is a comprehensive guide that explores the often-overlooked aspects of urban design, from infrastructure to architecture. It delves into how these elements, though invisible to many, play a crucial role in shaping our daily lives. The book is well-researched and includes detailed illustrations, making it both informative and visually appealing.
Since the mid-1970s, almost every jazz musician has owned a copy of the same book. It has a peach-colored cover, a chunky, 1970s-style logo, and a black plastic binding. It’s delightfully homemade-looking—like it was printed by a bunch of teenagers at a Kinkos. And inside is the sheet music for hundreds of common jazz tunes—also known as jazz “standards”—all meticulously notated by hand. It’s called the Real Book. But if you were going to music school in the 1970s, you couldn’t just buy a copy of the Real Book at the campus bookstore. Because the Real Book... was illegal. The world’s most popular collection of Jazz music was a totally unlicensed publication. The full story of how the Real Book came to be this bootleg bible of jazz is a complicated one. It’s a story about what happens when an insurgent, improvisational art form like Jazz gets codified and becomes something that you can learn from a book.
99% Invisible 
