Best Chick Corea Podcasts (2025)

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Sonny Rollins' 95th Birthday 27:12

Play Pause

1d ago27:12

27:12

Saxophonist Sonny Rollins turns 95 this Sunday, and the Jazz Evensong Quintet honors this milestone by programming an afternoon of his compositions. Widely recognized as the greatest improviser of all time, his well of inspiration sometimes seems bottomless, and he refuses to fall back on licks and patterns on the rare occasion when he feels less t…

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Jerome Kern 25:30

9d ago25:30

25:30

Jerome Kern (born January 27, 1885) was one of the most beloved and prolific of the Great American Songbook composers. While he wasn’t especially fond of jazz music himself, many of his compositions have been embraced by jazz musicians because of their strong, original harmonic and melodic content. Plus ... St. Michael’s Jazz Fest returns for a sec…

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Wayne Shorter (Round 2) 21:30

16d ago21:30

21:30

Saxophonist / composer Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) has cast an oversized shadow on jazz since he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1959. Soon becoming the primary composer for that group, and upon joining Miles Davis’ second great quintet in 1964, he soon filled that role with Miles as well. In 1970, he co-founded the jazz fusion grou…

1
Duke Pearson 22:38

23d ago22:38

22:38

Pianist, composer, and producer Duke Pearson (born August 17, 1932) is hardly a household name, but his influence on jazz music is far out of proportion to his personal fame. In addition to his compositions like "Jeanine" being accepted as jazz standards, his behind-the-scenes work as producer and arranger on a plethora of Blue Note records contrib…

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What Makes A Good Jazz Tune? 24:25

30d ago24:25

24:25

Occasionally, jazz musicians are asked to play certain requests that don’t really fit into our stylistic framework. Today, we’re going to make an effort to explain why that is. Some tunes not originally intended to be played in a jazz style fit easily into one, and some don’t, and we’ll try to explain why that is.…

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Freddie Hubbard 19:28

1M ago19:28

19:28

Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (born April 7, 1938) was one of the most gifted and technically proficient of any of the jazz trumpet players of his generation. His fiery, athletic, harmonically rich, seemingly effortless style influenced virtually all trumpet players who came after him. Serving his apprenticeship with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, his c…

1
Lee Morgan (Round 2) 24:53

1M ago24:53

24:53

Trumpeter/composer Lee Morgan (born July 10, 1938) first rose to national prominence as a teenager with Dizzy Gillespie’s big band. Becoming one of the most prominent hard bop trumpet soloists, he spent years with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, eschewing forming his own bands even as he issued numerous recordings as a leader in his own right. His re…

1
Hank Mobley (Round 2) 23:06

2M ago23:06

23:06

Tenor saxophonist/composer Hank Mobley (born July 7, 1930) has been described as one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era. Even though his career included stints with Miles Davis, Max Roach, Horace Silver and recordings with most of the greatest players of his generation, addiction and poor health adversely affected his life, leading to …

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Kurt Weill & Vernon Duke 32:45

2M ago32:45

32:45

Kurt Weill (born March 2, 1900) and Vernon Duke (born Vladimir Dukelsky, October 10, 1903) were both European born composers who composed “serious” concert music before emigrating to the United States and becoming two of the greatest exponents of American popular song. Kurt Weill felt strongly that music should have a political point of view, his "…

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Chick Corea (Round 2) 17:30

2M ago17:30

17:30

Pianist/composer Chick Corea (born June 12, 1941) is widely considered one of the most important pianists of the post Coltrane era. A prolific composer, a great many of his tunes have become jazz standards as well. His association with Miles Davis in the 1960’s lead to the birth of jazz fusion, and his various groups remained on the cutting edge of…

1
Cole Porter (Round 2) 24:21

3M ago24:21

24:21

Composer Cole Porter (born June 9, 1891) was something of an anomaly among songwriters of the Tin Pan Alley era. Born to an affluent Indiana family, songwriting was initially just a hobby for him, but he soon parlayed his gift for penning witty urbane lyrics and totally original melodies and harmonies into one of the most important creative voices …

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Tom Harrell (Round 2) 26:18

3M ago26:18

26:18

Trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer/arranger Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) has been critically acclaimed for most of his career. Starting as a sideman with Woody Herman, Horace Silver and Phil Woods, he has gone on to lead his own groups and record wonderful original music on dozens of recordings. His prolific creative output is made even more as…

1
Arthur Schwartz 26:35

3M ago26:35

26:35

Songwriter Arthur Schwartz(born Nov 25, 1900) was trained as a lawyer, but encouraged by friends George Gershwin and Lorenz Hart, soon abandoned that career and became a successful popular songwriter. His tunes are featured in several Broadway shows, and many of his tunes are favorite vehicles for jazz musicians due to their interesting harmonic st…

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Gerry Mulligan 31:40

3M ago31:40

31:40

Gerry Mulligan (born April 6, 1927) is possibly the best known baritone saxophonist in jazz, but he has also recorded on soprano and tenor saxophones, clarinet and piano. He is a prolific composer and arranger, contributing scores to the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool nonet, the Claude Thornhill and Stan Kenton bands, and his own Concert Jazz Band i…

1
Jackie McLean (Round 2) 22:31

4M ago22:31

22:31

John Lenwood “Jackie” McClean (born May 17, 1931) grew up in the same neighborhood in Harlem that was home to Sonny Rollins, Bud Powell and Thelonius Monk, and soon fell under the sway of the Bebop Revolution, particularly as espoused by Charlie Parker. Throughout his career, Jackie kept his ears open to new developments in the music, while still r…

1
Irving Berlin & Blue Skies 25:52

4M ago25:52

25:52

[Note: Stay tuned at the end to hear the band play Blue Skies!] It has been said that Irving Berlin didn’t write American music ... he was American music. Indeed, the scope and length of his career, and his vast body of work in a variety of musical contexts give credence to this argument. One of the very few songwriters of his generation who wrote …

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Fats Waller 30:51

4M ago30:51

30:51

[Note: Stay tuned at the end for some music from the band!] Thomas “Fats” Waller (born May 21, 1904) grew up the son of a preacher in the vibrant musical community of Harlem. He played the organ for his dad’s church as a child, with the organ pumped for him by Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. His prodigious keyboard abilities were soon encouraged by many o…

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Duke Ellington (Round 3) 35:35

4M ago35:35

35:35

It’s impossible to overestimate the impact that Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (born April 29, 1899) had on jazz and indeed the world of music in general. Even if his myriad contributions to the Great American Songbook were his only accomplishment, he would be one of its most hallowed creators, but his legacy is far more sweeping. He managed to fi…

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Herbie Hancock 23:27

5M ago23:27

23:27

Herbie Hancock, born April 12, 1940, is one of the most influential pianists and composers in jazz. He first rose to prominence with trumpeter Donald Byrd and later revolutionized jazz itself with Miles Davis, and pop music with his headhunters and rockit bands. He remains a big influence on younger players to this day, now an elder statesman of th…

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Victor Feldman 32:07

5M ago32:07

32:07

Victor Feldman is considered the finest all-around jazz musician ever to come from Great Britain. He was born on April 7, 1934, and was performing on stage playing the drums with Glenn Miller’s band at the age of six. Glenn Miller called Feldman “The greatest young percussionist ever created.” He was featured in several motion pictures and on the B…

1
Cedar Walton 20:17

5M ago20:17

20:17

Pianist/composer Cedar Walton (born January 17, 1934) first rose to prominence with drummer Art Blakey’s band and his own groups featured his original compositional voice for decades: fresh original takes on the hard bop style he came up in. Many of his tunes have become jazz standards.By Jazz Legends

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Benny Golson 30:36

6M ago30:36

30:36

Saxophonist and jazz composer Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) was one of jazz’s senior statesmen, passing away last year at the age of 95. He was one of the last surviving subjects of the well known photograph “A Great Day in Harlem”, which was featured in the film “The Terminal” (2004) which also featured a cameo by Golson himself. He penned …

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Jimmy Van Heusen 20:23

6M ago20:23

20:23

Songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock on January 26, 1913) picked his professional name inspired by the shirt company. In the course of his career, he won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for best song. Many of his tunes have become beloved jazz standards over the years.By Jazz Legends

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Harry Warren 18:27

6M ago18:27

18:27

Songwriter Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna on December 24, 1893) was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. In the course of his long career he was nominated for 11 Oscars for Best Song and won three times. In a career that lasted over sixty years, he composed over eight hundred songs and were featured in ove…

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NOLA & Mardi Gras 22:27

6M ago22:27

22:27

The band talks about celebrating New Orleans and Mardi Gras and the city’s great musical traditions.By Jazz Legends

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Unchained Melodies 25:57

7M ago25:57

25:57

The band is back! This Sunday at the "Unchained Melodies" show, the Evensong Quintet is playing a live recording concert of tunes in the public domain. Many of the best songwriters of the “Tin Pan Alley” era wrote some of their most enduring songs during the late 1920s, and many of these songs fall into public domain this year. Jazz musicians have …

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Christmas Jazz 13:35

9M ago13:35

13:35

As they prep for the annual Jazz Family Christmas show, the band talks Christmas tunes and jazz influence in classic favorites. The podcast is taking a break for the holidays and will return next year! Enjoying the show? Help keep it going by donating here.By Jazz Legends

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McCoy Tyner 24:29

9M ago24:29

24:29

Pianist/composer McCoy Tyner (born December 11, 1938) was the youngest member of the earth-shattering John Coltrane Quartet and went on to be a major innovator on his instrument, influencing a whole generation of pianists with his rhythmic and harmonically dense approach to the instrument. He has been recognized with an NEA jazz master award and fi…

1
Billy Strayhorn 21:05

10M ago21:05

21:05

Composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn (born November 29, 1915) was a true genius in his own right, though often referred to as Duke Ellington’s alter ego, he was so much more than that. A gay man in in an era when that was even more of an onus than it is now, Ellington made it possible for Strayhorn to create and thrive in spite of societal con…

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Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond 31:35

10M ago31:35

31:35

Pianist/composer Dave Brubeck and Alto Saxophonist Paul Desmond are enshrined in jazz history as the most prominent voices of the popular Dave Brubeck quartet. This group cast an outsized shadow over the jazz scene of the 1950’s and 1960’s, Desmond’s composition "Take Five" is one of the most beloved jazz compositions of all time and was the bigges…

1
Phil Woods 22:11

10M ago22:11

22:11

Saxophonist/composer Phil Woods (born Nov 2, 1931), is by many musicians considered the major exponent of the alto saxophone for the past sixty years. His big, commanding sound, strong sense of swing, and command of harmony are second to none. His playing is totally distinctive and immediately recognizable. He may be best known to the average liste…

1
Jimmy Heath 23:40

10M ago23:40

23:40

Saxophonist/composer Jimmy Heath (born Oct 25, 1926) came from a musical family in the fertile music scene of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He and his brothers Percy, bassist with the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Tootie, drummer with a plethora of jazz groups have contributed far more than their share to the world of jazz. A contemporary and close friend…

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Clare Fischer 25:14

11M ago25:14

25:14

While hardly a household name, pianist/composer Clare Fischer (born Oct 22, 1928) was a musician’s musician. While he spent a good portion of his career working as a studio musician in Hollywood, he cut his teeth as the musical director of the vocal group The Hi-Los. His musical imagination seemingly knew no bounds, over the course of his career he…

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Dizzy Gillespie 37:08

11M ago37:08

37:08

Trumpet player/composer John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (born Oct 21, 1917) was, along with Charlie Parker, one of the major innovators behind the bebop movement in jazz. His pyrotechnic technical abilities on the trumpet set the bar high for all the players of that instrument who came after him. He was responsible for a number of compositions that ha…

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Thelonious Monk 22:56

11M ago22:56

22:56

Pianist composer Thelonius Monk (born Oct 10, 1917) was possibly the most idiosyncratic performers and composers our music has ever produced. His music is second only to Duke Ellington in the number of times his many compositions have been recorded. Often referred to as the High Priest of Bebop, he was instrumental in the birth of this style, playi…

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Pepper Adams 19:14

11M ago19:14

19:14

Saxophonist Park “Pepper” Adams (born Oct 8, 1930) was one of many jazz greats to emerge from the fertile jazz scene of Detroit, Michigan in the 1940s-50s. He was known for his fiery technical abilities and big sound on the cumbersome baritone saxophone. He recorded prolifically with just about everyone on the NYC jazz scene after he relocated ther…

1
John Coltrane 32:48

12M ago32:48

32:48

Saxophonist John Coltrane (born Sept 23, 1926), is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential musical voices of the 20th Century. His influence can’t be overestimated; literally every musician who followed him has been shaped by his innovations and contributions to the music. A member of Miles Davis’ first great quintet, Coltrane …

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Cannonball & Nat Adderley 31:26

12M ago31:26

31:26

Saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley (born Sept 15,1928) and his cornetist brother Nat (born Nov 25, 1931) co-led one of the most successful jazz groups of the 1960’s-1970’s. From the time they arrived on the NYC scene from their native Florida in 1955, and sat in with bassist Oscar Pettiford, they set the town ablaze. Both musicians found work…

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Sonny Rollins 24:31

1y ago24:31

24:31

Tenor Saxophonist Sonny Rollins, born September 7, 1930, is widely recognized as one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. In his over seven-decade career he has produced over sixty albums as a leader, and penned a number of tunes that have become jazz standards. Growing up in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem he was surrounded by…

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Horace Silver 28:58

1y ago28:58

28:58

Pianist Horace Silver, born September 2, 1928, in Connecticut, played tenor saxophone and piano in school, and received his first national recognition when his trio was hired to play with saxophonist Stan Getz in 1950. His career received a major boost when he became part of the original Jazz Messengers with Art Blakey, and recorded his first hit c…

1
Wayne Shorter 24:56

1y ago24:56

24:56

Saxophonist, composer Wayne Shorter, born August 25, 1933, was one of the most influential jazz artists, and most creative, distinctive and prolific jazz composers the music has produced. Serving as the principal composer for both Art Blakey and Miles Davis’ bands during his tenures there, in addition to the music he wrote for his own twenty record…

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Mulgrew Miller 24:40

1y ago24:40

24:40

Pianist Mulgrew Miller, born August 13, 1955, toured with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for three years right out of college, later accompanying singer Betty Carter, then three year stints with trumpeter Woody Shaw followed by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He was already recording with his own groups when he joined drummer Tony Williams in quintet a…

1
Bill Evans 25:33

1y ago25:33

25:33

Bill Evans, born August 16, 1929, was one of his generation’s most influential jazz pianists. His lyrical melodic lines, use of impressionistic harmony and deft touch at the keyboard combined to make him an influence on every pianist that came after him. After working with Miles Davis and recording the seminal recording "Kind of Blue", he spent the…

1
Charlie Parker 39:19

1y ago39:19

39:19

Charlie Parker, nicknamed “Yardbird” or “Bird” for short was easily one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century. Born in Kansas City, Kansas on August 29, 1920, he came up in the vital jazz scene of Kansas City, Missouri. Initially heavily influenced by the playing of saxophonist Lester Young, he developed a prodigious saxophone …

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Lee Morgan 30:54

1y ago30:54

30:54

Virtuoso trumpeter Lee Morgan (born July 10, 1938) first rose to fame as a teenage member of Dizzy Gillespie’s band. He played as a sideman with John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Art Blakey in addition to producing a series of recordings as a leader, one of which “The Sidewinder” became a surprise commercial hit in 1964. He …

1
Frank Loesser 28:59

1y ago28:59

28:59

Composer and lyricist Frank Loesser (born June 29, 1910) worked for years as a lyricist for a series of different songwriters, always telling them he could actually write both words and music himself, and he proved it in 1950 with the Broadway Premiere of Guys and Dolls. Over the course of his career he won a Pulitzer Prize for his show, How to Suc…

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Hank Mobley 35:31

1y ago35:31

35:31

Tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley (born July 7, 1930) was described as the “Middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone” by critic Leonard Feather, but most musicians think he punched well above that weight class. His career included stints with Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Max Roach and Miles Davis as well as over thirty recordings as a bandleader in h…

1
Richard Rodgers 26:05

1y ago26:05

26:05

Throughout songwriter Richard Rodgers' (born June 28, 1902) long career, with 43 Broadway shows and over 900 songs to his credit, he wrote primarily with only two lyricists, Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein. Much of his output with both men have become standards, but jazz musicians are particularly enamored with his earlier work, with Lorenz Hart.…

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Chick Corea 16:45

1y ago16:45

16:45

Pianist, bandleader, composer Chick Corea (born June 12, 1941) is one of the most influential jazz musicians of his generation. After serving his apprenticeship with Miles Davis, Corea started a group called Return to Forever, that featured singer Flora Purim, reedman Joe Farrell and drummer/ percussionist Airto Moreira. Many of the compositions Co…

1
Tom Harrell 21:15

1y ago21:15

21:15

Trumpeter/composer Tom Harrell, born June 16, 1946, is one of most creative players of his instrument, and a prolific and fresh compositional voice as well. His achievements are all the more remarkable when you consider he suffers from symptoms of schizophrenia, and has only one lung! Early in his career he toured with the big bands of Stan Kenton …