I'm a jazz bassist, 61, and first saw a Real Book 43 years ago.
There were, and are, always a few hard-liners who look down on reading tunes from a book, on the bandstand. They're not necessarily the oldest, or best players, or have the best reasons. Whatever. Most of the gigs that I've played, fake books were accepted. There are similar debates in most musical styles.
Roughly 20 years ago, I decided to stop bringing fake books to gigs. I quickly discovered that I didn't need them. For one thing, the "local repertoire" wasn't vast. For another, it exercised my ability to pick up tunes by ear. I see more of what's around me, and interact more with the band and audience, because the music stand isn't there. Today, I have a bunch of stuff on an Android tablet that I keep in my bag just in case, but rarely bring it out. The tablet also contains stuff for bands that use written arrangements, such as a 19-piece jazz ensemble.
I personally think the inaccuracies are immaterial. Most players will never encounter a situation where the ur-text is important. The players I've known who mostly learned by ear don't play 100% accurate changes.
I'm not a full time pro, but am often called as a sub, so I've observed many levels of bands. I've formed the opinion that the fake books do in fact detract from performances. I hate "dead air" between tunes while the players flip through their books (or thumb through their phones) to choose what tune to play next. It's a little bit cringe when a good player who should know a beginner tune, reads it. Flipping through the books may be just a habit. Plus, dependence on the books limits the repertoire in weird ways. Real Book has practically become its own genre. Remember, the "contemporary" tunes in the RB are 50+ years old.
The problem is that gigs and jam sessions are no longer frequent enough to afford players a chance of learning tunes by ear. The books aren't going away. Bandleaders can figure out how to deliver a better performance. Send out a set list in advance. Let people listen to the tunes that they're unfamiliar with. If needed, they can transcribe them. I do that a lot when asked for a popular tune that doesn't have available sheet music, such as most country-western.
If the band is flipping through their books, paper or electronic, to choose what tune to play next, that isn't a performance worthy of the term. It's a jam session. Which is fine, but hopefully nobody is paying to listen to it.
I agree, but sometimes you don't know all of the details of a gig before agreeing to play, especially since I'm not the top call bassist in my locale. Then you put on the best show you can under the circumstances.
There were, and are, always a few hard-liners who look down on reading tunes from a book, on the bandstand. They're not necessarily the oldest, or best players, or have the best reasons. Whatever. Most of the gigs that I've played, fake books were accepted. There are similar debates in most musical styles.
Roughly 20 years ago, I decided to stop bringing fake books to gigs. I quickly discovered that I didn't need them. For one thing, the "local repertoire" wasn't vast. For another, it exercised my ability to pick up tunes by ear. I see more of what's around me, and interact more with the band and audience, because the music stand isn't there. Today, I have a bunch of stuff on an Android tablet that I keep in my bag just in case, but rarely bring it out. The tablet also contains stuff for bands that use written arrangements, such as a 19-piece jazz ensemble.
I personally think the inaccuracies are immaterial. Most players will never encounter a situation where the ur-text is important. The players I've known who mostly learned by ear don't play 100% accurate changes.
I'm not a full time pro, but am often called as a sub, so I've observed many levels of bands. I've formed the opinion that the fake books do in fact detract from performances. I hate "dead air" between tunes while the players flip through their books (or thumb through their phones) to choose what tune to play next. It's a little bit cringe when a good player who should know a beginner tune, reads it. Flipping through the books may be just a habit. Plus, dependence on the books limits the repertoire in weird ways. Real Book has practically become its own genre. Remember, the "contemporary" tunes in the RB are 50+ years old.
The problem is that gigs and jam sessions are no longer frequent enough to afford players a chance of learning tunes by ear. The books aren't going away. Bandleaders can figure out how to deliver a better performance. Send out a set list in advance. Let people listen to the tunes that they're unfamiliar with. If needed, they can transcribe them. I do that a lot when asked for a popular tune that doesn't have available sheet music, such as most country-western.