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Keyboardist/Composer Mike Prigodich Releases New CD "A Stitch in Time" from Mexican Mocha Music.

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Mexican Mocha Music CD Release Date: July 26th, 2011

Over the past two years Mike Prigodich's jazz-fusion compositions have begun attracting attention from many well-known national artists. For him, becoming a cancer patient in 2008 was the big wake-up call that got him to start writing new music, construct a band, start booking gigs, and pursue his dream of becoming a professional jazz musician. According to Prigodich, fellow cancer survivor Lance Armstrong inspired all this. Mike went on to raise over $10,000 on kickstarter.com in 2010 to fund this project which features Damian Erskine, Reinhardt Melz, John Nastos, Brandon Woody, Rafael Trujillo, Patrick Lamb, Tim Jensen, and Paul Mazzio. Emmy award-winning David Mathew also was on board to produce the project. “A Stitch in Time" is a breakout album for Prigodich, who says; “This album is a literally a dream come true and something I've wanted to do since childhood, but it took the life-changing event of a cancer diagnosis to give me the motivation I needed to make it happen. Like Lance Armstrong winning his first Tour de France, this project became my way to LIVESTRONG. It was a great honor and pleasure to work with these incredible musicians and hear my compositions come to life. I look forward to creating more great music in the years to come." Prigodich currently resides in Portland, Oregon and enjoys playing with some of the finest musicians in town who are up to the task of performing his extremely challenging, but accessible compositions. Check out “A Stitch in Time" from Mike Prigodich. A lesson in compositional brilliance coupled with top musicianship alongside one very inspirational story. ENJOY!

“Nice stuff!"—Nicholas Payton

“What a great disc! Beautifully written and played with passion and intensity by an excellent band. This is one of those CDs that you want to hear again and again. Bravo Mike!"- George Whitty

“Watch out for this guy! Mike is terribly brave, adventurous, playful, and adept. As his compositions and playing demonstrate, Mr. Prigodich is a rising talent following his creative muse fearlessly to wherever it takes him. Kudos Mr. P!"—David Goldblatt

Mike Prigodich Bio:

During his college years, Mike Prigodich performed in the jazz ensemble at Wheaton College (Illinois) led by Larry Panella (Natalie Cole, Phil Collins Big Band). Peers included jazz piano great Deanna Witkowski. Mike also accompanied a black gospel choir conducted by Tanya Egler and co-leads a rock band with Dove-award-winning vocalist Nicol Smith Sponberg and keyboardist Joe Bubar. He performed regular at Ginger Creek Community Church in Lombard, Illinois alongside many great musicians including Rich Trelease (Broadway musical national tour “Wicked") and Dennis Ostermann.

The 1990's saw Mike performing regularly with the Michael Newmark Orchestra, a 9-piece wedding band in the Chicago area. Mike also performed in a jazz quartet, once opening for Lou Rawls. After moving to Portland, OR in 1998, he performed briefly with a live band for Tapestry Theater's 2001 premier production of 1941 Christmas From Home, a WWII-era live radio style show. This was followed by a long hiatus from performing much in public due to the demands of his day job and family life.

Becoming a cancer patient in November 2008 was a big wake-up call and the perfect motivator to get him to stop procrastinating and start writing lots of new music, form a band, start booking gigs, network with other musicians, and most of all, experience the joy of playing great music. He was treated by Lance Armstrong's oncologist, Dr. Craig Nichols. Mike decided that if Lance Armstrong could go on to win the Tour de France as a cancer survivor, then he could pursue his childhood dream of becoming a professional jazz musician.

Mike currently leads the Melz/Prigodich/Erskine Group (MPEG) featuring Reinhardt Melz on drums and Damian Erskine on bass with John Nastos on saxophone making guest appearances on larger gigs. Mike recently recorded and released his debut album “A Stitch In Time." All of this has been in his spare time, since Mike still works a full-time day job in the software industry to support his family.

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