The Real Book [rebroadcast]
99% Invisible27 Feb 2024

The Real Book [rebroadcast]

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.

The Real Book

This episode originally aired in April 2021

Roman note: I love this episode. An all time favorite. Pass it along to someone jazzy if so inclined.

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.

Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Avsnitt(789)

On Beeing

On Beeing

Farmers have known for centuries that putting a hive of honeybees in an orchard results in more blossoms becoming cherries, almonds, apples and the like.  Yet it’s only in the last 30 years that polli...

6 Aug 201924min

He's Still Neutral

He's Still Neutral

When confronted with trash piling up on a median in front of their home in Oakland, Dan and Lu Stevenson decided to try something unusual: they would install a statue of the Buddha to watch over the p...

31 Juli 201932min

Invisible Women

Invisible Women

Men are often the default subjects of design, which can have a huge impact on big and critical aspects of everyday life. Caroline Criado Perez is the author of Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World De...

23 Juli 201927min

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Twine

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Twine

Vivian Le is on a mission that requires equal parts science, philosophy, and daring, in search of something that’s been hotly contested for decades: the world's largest ball of twine. Goodness Graciou...

17 Juli 201941min

Built on Sand

Built on Sand

Sand is so tiny and ubiquitous that it's easy to take for granted. But in his book The World in a Grain, author Vince Beiser traces the history of sand, exploring how it fundamentally shaped the world...

9 Juli 201936min

The Universal Page

The Universal Page

Reporter Andrew Leland has always loved to read. An early love of books in childhood eventually led to a job in publishing with McSweeney’s where Andrew edited essays and interviews, laid out articles...

2 Juli 201938min

Life and Death in Singapore

Life and Death in Singapore

When Singapore gained its independence they went on a mission to re-house the population from densely-packed thatched roof huts into giant concrete skyscrapers. In 1960, they formed the Housing and De...

25 Juni 201933min

The Anthropocene Reviewed

The Anthropocene Reviewed

The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. On The Anthropocene Reviewed, John Green rates different facets of the hu...

18 Juni 20191h 4min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

framgangspodden
varvet
rss-jossan-nina
rss-borsens-finest
rss-svart-marknad
badfluence
avanzapodden
uppgang-och-fall
svd-tech-brief
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
fill-or-kill
rss-dagen-med-di
lastbilspodden
tabberaset
bathina-en-podcast
24fragor
kapitalet-en-podd-om-ekonomi
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
rikatillsammans-om-privatekonomi-rikedom-i-livet
dynastin