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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 |
I remember when I first got the link to the Straight No Chaser video of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” I loved it. SNC is a 12-man a cappella group whose fun, inventive, live rendition of that song garnered 8 million views on YouTube.
The popularity of the video got the attention of a recording label honcho and now SNC has a recording on Atlantic Records. The 14 songs are familiar favorites like “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and “The Christmas Song” and a couple of originals. I thought covering Brian Wilson’s “Little Saint Nick” was a good choice.
I’ve been given a MP3 of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Angels We Have Heard on High” for you to download. Click the play button after the YouTube videos to give it a try. If you like it, right-click the link and save the file. You can buy the CD or DRM-free download from Amazon by clicking the shopping cart in the player.
The video that started it all:
The journey from Indiana University students to major label recording artists:
Straight No Chaser – Holiday Spirits – “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Angels We Have Heard on High”
How do you get your music heard in the age of the Internet? How do you get people’s attention when there are countless web sites and no major jazz labels? What is working for me is free Christmas MP3s. I just discovered bassist Sean O’Bryan Smith. He has a free MP3 of “Let It Snow” at AllAboutJazz. Just register at the site and you can download a new MP3 there every day.
Two of the greatest things in life: the year-end holidays and free music. Joyce Cooling is offering both – a free MP3 of her new original composition “It’s Feeling Like Christmas.” It’s a nice seasonal song. You can download it at Joyce’s site. No signing up for a mailing list or anything. Just download it.
Between this and her rendition of “The Christmas Song” from the GRP compilation Making Spirits Bright, she’s getting enough songs for a full holiday record, inevitably titled Joyce to the World. Just kidding.
Grammy-nominated 24-year old trumpeter Christian Scott has his first live CD and DVD out in stores now. Live at Newport includes five new compositions that echo his musical hero Miles Davis. Click the play button for the song “Died In Love” from the release. If you like what you hear, hit the Shopping Cart icon to buy it.
Christian Scott – “Died In Love”
Straight No Chaser – Holiday Spirits
Christian Scott