The Reality Book: Music Interactive
A NEW STANDARD
Video: Jeff Baker walks you through The Reality Book
Seems like it should be! We've actually developed a state-of-the-art, HD Video play-along environment that's combined with charts, lessons and transcriptions to create in-depth learning sets for the tunes YOU need to know.
Clicking on "Browse the Videos," you'll find two dozen video links, starting with 4 videos in "SET ONE," each containing everything you need to get to work. Included in each package is:
The Reality Book experience is centered around placing you with an ensemble of some of the more dynamic jazz artists in the world, with the visual of their energy, movements, intent, and group interaction adding volumes of experiential material otherwise only accessible through live performance.
In addition, there are 25 solo transcriptions from the jazz masters to go with each set of changes, including solos by:
JOHN COLTRANE / CHARLIE PARKER / WARNE MARSH / KENNY BARRON / RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK
MILES DAVIS / ART TATUM / OSCAR PETERSON / KENNY GARRETT / TUBBY HAYES / PHINEAS NEWBORN / LEE KONITZ
From performances on classic standards, such as:
I'LL REMEMBER APRIL / DOXY / AUTUMN LEAVES / IF I SHOULD LOSE YOU / BODY & SOUL
SWEET GEORGIA BROWN / BLACK ORPHEUS / HOW DEEP IS THE OCEAN / OLEO / HAVE YOU MET MISS JONES / DONNA LEE / THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE / IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU / ONE FINGER SNAP / NIGHT & DAY / and many more....
Included in your monthly subscription is EVERYTHING on the site plus all future content and updates. One low subscription rate covers it all!
See you inside The Reality Book!
JEFF BAKER
"...one of the best male vocalists in the jazz world today" - WCLK, Atlanta
Jeff Baker's five critically acclaimed recordings and exciting live performances over the last 20 years have solidified his spot among the significant jazz vocalists of today. He's headlined numerous festivals and clubs, sharing the stage with Gene Harris, Brian Blade, John Patitucci, Steve Wilson, Marquis Hill, Bruce Barth, Darrell Grant, Karrin Allyson, Henry Butler, Orrin Evans, and many more. Developing his reputation as a respected and sought after educator over the same period, Baker also helped build two nationally recognized programs, as executive director of the ArtsWest School for the Performing and Visual Arts outside Boise, ID and then in creating the Jazz + Contemporary Vocal Program at Portland State University. In total, Baker's students received over 100 Top Award honors at festivals and competitions throughout the US, over $3 million in college scholarships, and have been recognized with 10 Downbeat Student Music Awards, 4-time Finalists in the Monterey Next Generation Festival, and invitations to perform at major events worldwide.
JOHN BISHOP
"One can hear many influences in Bishop's playing, including more than a touch of Elvin, but he is clearly an original voice ..." - Percussive Notes (PAS)
As a drummer, educator, record label owner, graphic designer, and festival presenter, John Bishop has been an active voice in Jazz for over 35 years. He's been the drummer for NY pianist Hal Galper's Trio for 13 years and has performed with Lee Konitz, Slide Hampton, Benny Golson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Sonny Fortune, and countless others. He's appeared on more than 100 recordings, was inducted into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame, and was named a "Jazz Hero”" by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2019. Bishop started the jazz label Origin Records in 1997, and along with his ex-drum student Matt Jorgensen, they've since released over 650 albums by 300 artists from around the world. He was on the faculty of the University of Washington from 2005-2009, and regularly does drum and jazz workshops throughout the country with the Hal Galper Trio, most recently at the University of North Texas, University of Indiana, Dartmouth, Cal Arts, The New School, Purchase Conservatory-NYC, William Paterson University, and the University of Louisville. He was on the NW chapter Board of Governors of NARAS, and annually takes part in multiple music conferences & events around the world.
BRIAN HURST
A Londoner born and bred, Brian's enthusiasm for life is only matched with his passion for music, which has reverberated around his house for over forty years. Involved with radio and restaurant ownership over the decades, Brian launched the internet-based music service & platform, SoulandJazz.com, in 2009. Working alongside independent artists, major record labels and international brands, they create free-to-stream programming, record label Showcases, and in the "Member's Lounge," host thousands of the shows they've produced, all downloadable in Lossless Audio. With their listening audience spread over 40 countries, they also continue to develop SoulandJazz.TV which embraces immersive recording in Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Atmos and Sennheiser Ambeo, as well as multi-camera filming in 4K and 8K/360 degree Virtual Reality capture. Their motto "Artistry Not Celebrity," reflects the deep intention of search and discovery embedded within their mission.
Gregory Artry | Drums
A first-call, highly versatile, and explosive Chicago drummer, Greg Artry follows in the footsteps of his father, a noted session drummer. Discovering his musical voice at a Performing Arts Program in Indianapolis, Artry became a regular on the Midwest jazz scene, performing in clubs and concerts with regional giants and jazz legends including Melvin Rhyne, Pharez Whitted, Bobby Broom, Slide Hampton, Bobby Watson, Charles McPhearson, Claudio Roditi, Donald Harrison Jr., Steve Turre, Willie Pickens, Sonny Fortune, and many others.
Geof Bradfield | Sax
Saxophonist and composer Geof Bradfield has shared stages throughout the world with jazz giants such as Randy Weston, Carl Allen, Brian Blade, and Orrin Evans, and at home in Chicago with his equally celebrated colleagues, Jeff Parker, Matt Ulery, Marquis Hill, and Dana Hall, to name a few. He's featured on over 50 recordings, including seven as a leader, garnering critical accolades from the New York Times, LA Times, Downbeat, and NPR. He has received commissions from Chamber Music America and has been a committed educator for decades, currently on the faculty at Northern Illinois University.
Ryan Cohan | Piano
An inventive pianist and celebrated composer/arranger, Ryan Cohan's contributions to the music scene in his hometown of Chicago and on visits to New York are recognized for "ingenuity and virtuosity" (Chicago Tribune), and a vital voice to the many he works with on the global stage. Cohan has appeared with a wide range of reknowned jazz, pop and classical luminaries including Freddie Hubbard, Joe Locke, Paquito D'Rivera, Kurt Elling, Gregory Porter, Steve Wilson, and The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Dana Hall | Drums
A distinguished Special Trustees Fellow completing his Doctorate in ethnomusicology at the University of Chicago and the Director of Jazz Studies at DePaul University, Dana Hall has proven himself across the board as a fiery drumming talent, a pioneering academic and an intregal piece of the towering bands he's had the good fortune to work with. Branford Marsalis, Ray Charles, Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman, Horace Silver, Michael Brecker, Nicholas Payton, are just a sample. Hall is also a longterm member of the Terell Stafford Quintet, the Music Director of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and he was formerly a member of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band.
Marlene Rosenberg | Bass
Bassist Marlene Rosenberg has been a dominant force on the Chicago jazz scene for decades, performing with traveling legends such as Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, Stan Getz, Lewis Nash, and Jazzmeia Horn, to name a few. She toured internationally with some of the icons of American music: Joe Henderson, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Frank Morgan, Ed Thigpen, Albert "Tootie" Heath, Roy Hargrove and Wallace Roney. As an educator, she's on the jazz and bass faculty at Northern Illinois University and an applied artist at Roosevelt University.
Lenard Simpson | Saxophone
Originally from Milwaukee, the 23-year-old saxophonist is a quickly rising jazz artist. In his teen years, he was selected for the Grammy Camp Jazz Session and was a winner of Chicago's Luminarts Jazz Competition. Moving to Chicago to study at Northern Illinois University, he had the opportunity to play with artists such as Brian Lynch, Robert Irving III, Charles Heath, Ari Brown, and Bobby Broom, and was a member of drummer George Fludas' "For Funks' Sake." Simpson is now a graduate student at the prestigious Monk Institute in Los Angeles.
Clark Sommers | Bass
Grammy award-winning bassist Clark Sommers has been recording and touring internationally with jazz vocal great Kurt Elling for over a decade. Based in Chicago, he's shared bills with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Tony Bennett, and performed and appeared on recordings with Cedar Walton, Brian Blade, Ernie Watts, Peter Bernstein, and so many more. He studied with Charlie Haden at the California Institute of the Arts and still continues studies with David Grossman of the New York Philharmonic.
Reggie Thomas | Piano
After two decades as a professor at Southern Illinois University and Michigan State University, the hard-swinging pianist Reggie Thomas is now leading the Jazz program at Northern Illinois University, and is active nationally at noted jazz academies, camps and festivals. Besides fronting his own groups, he's performed with Hamiett Blueit, Ann Hampton Callaway, and the Carl Allen/Rodney Whitaker Ensemble, and is often with the Count Basie Band as an accompanist for the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. He has performed throughout Asia, North America and Europe.
Bill Anschell | Piano
Seattle pianist/composer Bill Anschell's diverse life trajectory offered a lengthy association with vocalist Nnenna Freelon, touring the world as musical director, arranger, pianist; a stint as Jazz Coordinator for the Southern Arts Federation; touring opportunities in South America with his own trio; and he has produced a dozen superlative recordings. Well known as a jazz humorist, Anschell's satirical essay, "Careers in Jazz," is the all-time most-read piece on All About Jazz.com with more than 350,000 views, and was featured in the Wall Street Journal. He was a winner of the inaugural Paul Desmond Award, a celebration of the funniest jazz artists, and his compositions have appeared on programs including The West Wing, NCIS: LA, The Wire, and HBO's Bessie Smith biopic, "Bessie."
Darrell Grant | Piano
Introduced to international audiences in 1988 as the pianist with legendary vocalist Betty Carter, pianist Darrell Grant has been on the frontlines of the jazz world, recording and performing with Brian Blade, John Patitucci, Bill Frisell, Branford Marsalis, David Sanborn, Esperanza Spalding, Nicholas Payton, and so many more. Through eight albums of his own, dozens as a sideman, and two decades as an educator and leader in the arts, Darrell Grant's multi-faceted creative projects and innovative initiatives reflect a belief in the extraordinary power of art to inspire and move others to transform society and themselves.
Brent Jensen | Saxophone
Seattle saxophonist BRENT JENSEN is an indefatigable educator, saxophonist and advocate for the music. A student of jazz legend Lee Konitz, Jensen's multiple releases on Origin Records have topped the jazz charts nationwide, "One More Mile," was named a top release of the year by the Village Voice, and his "Sound of a Dry Martini" tribute to Paul Desmond has maintained a presence in the marketplace for two decades. The former Director of Jazz at the College of Southern Idaho, Brent has shared the stage with many greats including Gene Harris, Bill Watrous, the Lionel Hampton Big Band, and Curtis Stigers, and has been a mentor to dozens of working musicians across the country.
Ben Markley | Piano
Pianist Ben Markley has performed with Brian Lynch, Greg Osby, Eddie Henderson, Terell Stafford, George Garzone, and John Fedchock. His recent, critically-acclaimed recording, "Clockwise: The Music of Cedar Walton" (OA2 Records) was featured as one of the top albums of 2017 by DownBeat magazine. He currently serves as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wyoming where he directs and coaches the Wyoming Jazz Ensemble, and combos. He also teaches applied jazz piano, improvisation and is the director of the UW Jazz Festival.
John Nastos | Saxophone
Portland saxophonist John Nastos attended the Manhattan School of Music on scholarship studying with Dick Oatts, Bob Mintzer, Steve Wilson, and Mike Abene. Returning to Oregon, Nastos has performed with a who's who of jazz musicians and toured extensively with Grammy-winning artists Dianne Schuur and Esperanza Spalding. In 2011, Nastos developed an innovative new metronome app called Metronomics, which is now used by thousands of musicians around the world. He followed up in 2015 with a sister app called Harmonomics. Nastos is currently on faculty at Portland State University.
Alexandra Sjobeck | Piano
Pianist Alexandra Sjobeck's captivating style led her from her home state of Idaho to New York City, where she graduated from the Manhattan School of Music, to the famed jazz program in Greely, Colorado where she earned her Master's at the University of Northern Colorado. Active as an educator, performer and touring artist, Sjobeck has three albums as leader and co-leader, and has composed music for film, conducted her own music for big band and has presented workshops and masterclasses throughout the United States.