On Mar 29, 2006, at 7:42 AM, James Gilbert wrote:
Also, my repertoire preference tilts toward the older stuff. I'd
love a book that's got a deep collection of standards from the 20s,
30s, and 40s, and I'd like a fairly good sampling from before that,
too. I like the old musicals (eg, Rodgers & Hammerstin, Lerner &
(I'm not sure who the quote is from)
I work at a music store in the sheet music department (Lipham Music in
Gainesville, FL). There are literally hundreds of such collections
available. We must have 20 or so in stock that cover the
1920's-1950's,
not to mention musicals. Hal Leonard and Alfred (which bought Warner
Brothers music last year) publish a number of piano/vocal/guitar
books
like that. Those collections are in the format of traditional sheet
music
- a vocal line at the top and a piano part below. Chord symbols for
guitar are placed above the vocal line. Usually, but not always, the
piano part contains the melody.
On a side note, I've heard complaints from customers about the Hal
Leonard
'legal' edition of "The Real Book" fakebook. They say it does not
contain
the same titles as the originals and do not have the correct chord
symbols on some songs. I also heard a customer tell me that PDF
versions
on CD-ROMs of the original "Real Book" and others can be found for
sale on
ebay. Obviously not legal, but nonetheless available.
This is true, and there are thousands of songs included. My students
have these and have given me a copy - a useful, though illegal,
resource for those who understand chord symbol shorthand. Chuck
Sher's books are the most consistently correct (almost always), and
they represent a high level of integrity in editing and presenting
this kind of material. None of this solves Mark's problem of needing
fully realized piano arrangements, and most published ones are
abominable when compared with the most rudimentary realization by a
competent jazz musician.
I agree that the Reader's Digest Songbook - Remembering Yesterday's
Hits (ISBN 0-89577-249-3) is a fine example of this kind of thing
done well. The arrangements by Dan Fox are exemplary, and they can
be played with the lead line sung instead of played on the piano.
They are simple and harmonically satisfying. A lot of care and
sophisticated thought went into this publication, and it includes
many great songs. I recommend it to Mark, and anyone else who needs
this kind of publication.
Chuck
James Gilbert
http://www.jamesgilbertmusic.com/
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Chuck Israels
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fax (360) 676-6055
www.chuckisraels.com
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