The Real Book Volume II C Instruments . C Instruments 2nd Edition Fake Book

Customer Reviews

The next logical extension in the jazz musician's library

2008-08-30
As I said in my review of The Real Book: Sixth Edition, all jazz musicians eventually have to have a real book. If you started with Volume 1 (you did, didn't you?), sooner or later there's going to be a few tunes you want to play that aren't in there. Chances are very good they are in here. (Some examples of tunes I wanted out of this one include Georgia on My Mind, Fly me to the Moon, and Caravan.) I would say all jazz musicians should have Volume 1 and Volume 2, at a minimum. That'll give you something like 800 songs you could (hypothetically) play. I'm surprised other reviewers say they use this one more than Volume 1, as that will definitely never happen with me and my music. Also, I'm still missing a few songs that I really want to play that aren't in either of these (like Witchcraft and They Can't Take That Away From Me). Maybe I'll buy Hal Leonard The Real Book Volume 3 for C Instruments before long, too. Anyway, you can't go wrong getting this book as a companion to volume 1.

It's just what we had in mind.

2008-08-05
We purchased this book as a gift for a famil and fellow band member. He was ecstatic.

Great Gift for Jazz Musician

2008-01-01
I purchased this book for my son who plays the upright bass. He really loves it (and owns Volume I). We had a great time on Christmas playing and singing all the old favorites from this book.

As Good As Volume 1

2007-12-12
This book picks up where Volume 1 left off. The Real Book has always been "The Bible" for all of the standards.

Real Book2

2007-06-11
Great book, clear print, all the original chord markings, and now legal!!! what a treasure.

A must have

2007-02-17

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 copyright

What is this... 2007-02-09
So many of the reviewers here HAS to mention that owning the book is now LEGAL, because the publisher went through the trouble of licensing the songs, like a good corporation should. See, I don't have a problem with that per se, but when the publisher makes a stink of letting us know its LEGAL and I see some reviewers jumping on that particular bandwagon, I can't help but get this suspicion that something is afoot.
Like, you had the old (unlicensed=illegal) fake book for years and it really tormented you to know that the rights-holders (not the composers, note!) weren't paid their dues, but now, having the LEGAL copy you just feel so much warmer inside. Give me a break!

More good songs! 2007-01-11
I had been playing from my decrepit, illegal real book volume 1 for more than 20 years, and only came across this volume 2 occasionally, playing with friends. Volume 2 brings great variety to Volume 1. There seems to be a higher concentration of standards and bebop songs, such as playable Parker and Monk tunes. The notation is clean, and although I am not a professional, I have not come across noticeable mistakes yet. And it feels good knowing that I am not breaking the law each time I play a tune in public + the price is right!

The real thing 2007-01-09
What I love most about this book is its design. Veterans know that fake books are frequently a combination of handwritten, poorly-photocopied, cut-and-pasted, inconsistently-sized charts along with chord naming conventions that go all over the place (an E minor chord can read as Em, e, E-, etc. in the same book.)

The Real Book series (besides the advantage of excellent songs acquired with the proper rights) has a wonderful design. The staff lines are a consistent size; there is one song per page (or sometimes two pages, laid out so there's no flipping involved); chord naming conventions are consistent (it's "E-" throughout); and there is a lot of white space for a clean, clear look and room to pencil-in performance notes. It's easy and natural to go from one song to another without going through a lot of mental gymnastics and adjustments, as one would do in other fake books.

Plus, it's all done in a handwritten-looking font that gives it both a warm, handmade character and the feeling that you've acquired something surreptitious (like every fake book should be)!

The only problem is that the key is only indicated in the first measure of the first staff -- sharps and flats are not repeated at the beginning of the lower staffs, so it's sometimes a little hard to quickly remind yourself of what key you're in. Still, I'm having lots of fun with this.

Strong collection of tunes used legally 2006-06-27
While most people think that musicians "play" music, they often forget that they also "work" music. It's great to see the composers and arrangers of classic tunes getting their fees. Sure, a handful are missing because the publisher couldn't secure the rights, but I'm willing to trade that for a legal version. In terms of usefulness (I own vols 1 and 2)they cover a lot of ground. A good effort. The bass clef edition is a nice modern convenience for us bass and trombone players!