Jazz pianist Chick Corea teamed up with bluegrass banjoist Bela Fleck on the new album titled The Enchantment. Both musicians perform and share their collaborative process on NPR.

About Fleck: “Renowned as one of the world’s foremost banjo players, Fleck blends bluegrass, jazz, folk and even classical music into a sublimely realized whole.”

About Corea: “One of the most influential jazz and jazz fusion keyboardists of the modern era, Chick Corea has — over the course of a nearly 50-year career — developed a distinctive and original style that pushes the melodic and percussive capabilities of his instrument to the limit.”

If you’ve wanted the piece of the new hype but can’t get one, don’t feel so bad. Not everybody’s going to get one!

A chart from Econimist.com shows the street price of coca from Columbia ($2 a gram) to New Zealand ($714.30 a gram).

These disturbing and torturing images of Barbie are freaking me out. Not that I ever liked what the dolls were suppose to represent.

Jazz singer Lena Horne will be 90 in two days. Happy birthday, Love!

Check out Keith Jarrett’s improvisation and conversation with Marian McPartland on Piano Jazz session.

I could see myself using a Washlet, a remarkable toilet seat, in favor of the ass-cutting paper. Like the Washlet 101 instructor said, “You just sit down; do what you came to do; and then reach for the remote.”

After spinning eighteen tracks on T.I. vs. T.I.P., the only thang that appeals to me is T.I.’s southern intonation. He also has a marvelous flow, but he rhymes too soft. At times, the big, booming beats dominate his voice. Lyrically, he is more of a flow virtuoso than a storyteller. Without personality, the album fails to hold listeners’ attention even though he got big help from other rappers including Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, Eminem, and Busta Rhymes.

NPR‘s Jazz Profiles pays tribute to the Prince of Darkness:

Miles Davis was the personification of restless spirit, always pushing himself and his music into uncharted territory. He was an innovative lightning rod for musicians from all genres — particularly the brightest young players. Davis created some of the 20th century’s most challenging and influential music.

Great stuff!

From the Masters of Painting (via Tim).