Reharmonizing The Real Book

For nearly 50 years, The Real Book has sat proudly on music stands across the world, from clubs and society gigs to practice rooms and jam sessions. It’s—unofficially—the best-selling “fake book” of all time. Generations of jazz musicians have learned to play standards and classics from the Great American Songbook via its venerable pages. So why in the name of Irving Berlin would someone set out to reharmonize its contents?

“Music is in a whole different place now,” says guitarist Jack Grassel, 71, a professional