The Jazz Real Book

In this podcast, Jazz History professor, biographer, musician, and popular podcaster Jay Sweet will help guide you through the tunes included in the Jazz Real Book. For decades, this book (often called "The Jazz Bible") has been a resource for jazz musicians looking to learn jazz standards and repertoire. This podcast will discuss essential recordings and details associated with the songs in the Jazz Real Book, the musicians who created the material, and the recordings that inspire jazz musicians and fans worldwide.

The Jazz Real Book is a music podcast hosted by Jay Sweet, with 203 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Jay Sweet hosts The Jazz Real Book, a music show with 203 episodes published.

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  The Jazz Real Book

  Grand Central and Cannonball Adderley Quintet In Chicago

  Sep 27, 202612 min

  “Grand Central” and Cannonball Adderley Quintet In Chicago (136) “Grand Central” is a John Coltrane composition recorded on February 3, 1959, for Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago . The session featured Cannonball Adderley, Coltrane, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb—the same core musicians who, less than a month later, would participate in Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue . Played at approximately 256 BPM, the melody mixes rapid eighth-note lines with longer resting notes. Harmonically, Coltrane moves through a series of ii–V progressions that frequently avoid their expected resolutions. The result is a tune that is constantly moving forward, both melodically and harmonically, offering an early glimpse of the increasingly complex harmonic language Coltrane would explore over the next several years. Coltrane and Cannonball Pancho Sachez The Jazz Real Book Podcast Vol 2.

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  The Jazz Real Book

  Good Evening Mr. & Mrs. America & All the Ships at Sea and Tom Scott

  Sep 19, 202619 min

  “Good Evening Mr. & Mrs. America & All the Ships at Sea” and Tom Scott (135) “Good Evening Mr. & Mrs. America & All the Ships at Sea” was composed by drummer John Guerin and recorded by Tom Scott and the L.A. Express for the 1975 album Tom Cat . The title references broadcaster Walter Winchell’s famous opening line. The track is a great example of 1970s jazz fusion, combining jazz harmony and improvisation with funk and rock rhythms. It is also a tune you rarely hear called at a jam session—and for good reason. Compared with most jazz standards, its form, melody, harmony, and rhythms are unusually demanding. The arrangement moves through several contrasting sections, including an extended solo form. Much of the piece is built around a funky bass line and unique chord movement. Later sections introduce dominant chords loaded with tensions, shifting meters of harmonic activity, challenging sixteenth-note figures, and unexpected movement. Guerin’s driving backbeat and Scott’s saxophone ultimately hold the complicated arrangement together. Tom Scott and L.A. Express The Jazz Real Book Podcast Vol. 2

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  The Jazz Real Book

  Ben Allison Interview

  Sep 12, 20261h 33m

  Ben Allison Interview Ben Allison is an American jazz bassist, composer, bandleader, and educator known for bringing a distinctive contemporary voice to the acoustic bass. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1966, Allison studied jazz at New York University before becoming an important figure in New York’s downtown jazz scene. In 1992, he co-founded the Jazz Composers Collective, an influential organization that provided musicians with opportunities to perform and develop original music outside the traditional jazz-club system. As a bandleader, Allison blends jazz with rock, funk, folk, and contemporary classical influences. His playing emphasizes groove, melodic invention, and interaction rather than simply serving as a traditional rhythm-section foundation. He has recorded numerous albums, including Buzz , Cowboy Justice , Little Things Run the World , and Action-Refraction . Allison has also championed the music of overlooked jazz composer Herbie Nichols. His work demonstrates how the modern bassist can function equally as accompanist, composer, bandleader, and musical innovator.

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  The Jazz Real Book

  Golden Lady and Stevie Wonder

  Sep 6, 202620 min

  “Golden Lady” and Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady,” from his landmark 1973 album Innervisions , represents everything that makes Wonder such an extraordinary musician. On the surface, it is a warm and uplifting love song, but underneath it is a sophisticated mixture of soul, funk, pop, rock, and jazz influences. Wonder’s inventive harmonies, memorable melodies, rhythmic feel, and use of keyboards and synthesizers give the song a sound that remains remarkably fresh. “Golden Lady” also demonstrates Wonder’s strong connection to jazz. Although he has never been primarily considered a jazz musician, jazz harmony, improvisation, and musical experimentation have always been important parts of his work. That connection began early with The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie and continued throughout his career, including collaborations with major jazz artists. More than fifty years later, “Golden Lady” remains a great example of Wonder’s genius: sophisticated music that never sounds complicated, combining remarkable musicianship with an immediately memorable song. Stevie Wonder Soulive The Jazz Real Book Playlist Vol 2

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  The Jazz Real Book

  Boris Kozlov Interview

  Aug 28, 202656 min

  Boris Kozlov Interview Boris Kozlov’s connection to Charles Mingus runs far deeper than simply directing the Mingus Big Band. Growing up in the Soviet Union, Kozlov first encountered Mingus through photocopied music, playing “Pussy Cat Dues” before he had even heard Mingus’s recordings. After moving to New York, hearing Mingus Ah Um proved transformative—Kozlov describes it as such a perfect recording that it could be sent into space as a representation of “what human jazz is.” Kozlov joined the Mingus Big Band in 1998 as a last-minute substitute and quickly earned Sue Mingus’s confidence. Within weeks, she entrusted him with creating what became Charles Mingus: More Than a Play-Along . Now the band’s frequent musical director, Kozlov brings that nearly three-decade relationship to the group. His philosophy remains wonderfully Mingus-like: don’t imitate the master—use his music to find your own voice.

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