Chick Corea turns 76 – no way!

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Chick Corea turns 76 today. It’s hard to believe. I met Chick just a few weeks ago at the Kansas City Jazz & Heritage Festival. I don’t know many 76 year-old people but Chick seems to be a lot younger. He doesn’t sprint across the stage or anything but his fingers are as nimble as anyone’s and his enjoyment at playing is apparent. His constant drive to explore jazz, and often push it forward, is one of the reasons he is a jazz legend.

I helped the City of Kansas City, Missouri’s Office of Culture and Creative Services with this video interview at the Festival.  Hope you enjoy.

Chick Corea and me

Amazon vs. iTunes: June Jazz

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There seems to be a higher-than-usual number of contemporary jazz recordings coming out this month. Here’s a quick breakdown of what the latest music costs at iTunes vs. the Amazon MP3 shop.

  Amazon iTunes
Pat Metheny What’s It All About $8.99 $11.99
Michael Franks Time Together $6.99 $9.99
Corea, Clarke & White Forever $15.00 $19.99
Paul Taylor Prime Time $6.99 $9.99
New Gary Burton Quartet Common Ground $8.99 $9.99

New CDs and DVDs In May

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Rituals by Nicola ConteHere is a list of new CDs and DVDs coming in May that I’m aware of. Click Support ContemporaryJazz.com by buying this CD through Amazon.com to order the CD from Amazon.com, or Support ContemporaryJazz.com by buying this through iTunes to download MP3s. Your purchases through these links help the site!

May 5
Poogie Bell Band – Get on the Kit | Support ContemporaryJazz.com by buying this download
Jim Beard w/ Vince Mendoza – Revolutions
Incognito – Live in Jakarta DVD

May 12
Return To Forever – Live at Montreux 2008 DVD / Blu-ray
Stanley Clarke Trio w/ Hiromi and Lenny White – Jazz in the Garden | Support ContemporaryJazz.com by buying this download
Candy Dulfer – Funked Up! | Support ContemporaryJazz.com by buying this download
Charnett Moffett (feat. Will Calhoun) – The Art of Improvisation

May 19
Richard Elliot – Rock Steady | Support ContemporaryJazz.com by buying this download
Nicola Conte – Rituals | Support ContemporaryJazz.com by buying this download
Terri Lyne Carrington – More To Say… (Real Life Story: NextGen) | Support ContemporaryJazz.com by buying this download

May 26
Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow & Antonio Sanchez – Quartet Live!
Diana Krall – Live In Rio DVD / Blu-ray

New Music in March

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Earlier this month, I posted some of the new contemporary jazz and jazz-related videos that have come out this year. Below are some of the new CDs that came out this month. On the carousel to order the latest from Diana Krall, Gregg Karukas, Chris Botti, the Rippingtons, Sean Jones, Chuck Loeb, Return To Forever, Nils, and Philippe Saisse.

The Great Pumpkin Waltz

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The song I probably listen to most this time of year is Vince Guaraldi’s “The Great Pumpkin Waltz.” That’s a classic. Chick Corea covered it in the 1989 GRP compilation Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown! That recording in itself is great, with B.B. King, Joe Williams, Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and classic GRP artists Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, and David Benoit playing music from Peanuts specials. It’s always the Chick Corea trio of Chick, John Patitucci, and Tom Brechtlein and their top-notch recording that is the first track I queue up.

Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown!Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown!