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Jason Innocent, on
“3”
, Abdullah Ibrahim’s latest album
The Sunday Poem:
“A Jazz Drinker” by Ermira Mitre Kokomani
“Remembering Mose,” a poem by John Kendall Hawkins
“Sayir” – a short story by Ron Perovich
The Sunday Poem
: “Watermelon Man” by Charles Albert
Three poets and
Sketches of Spain
“The Poetry Gods Want to Know” – Emmett Wheatfall on the impact of climate change on poets
“Ghost Music” – a short story by Stan Ellis
The Sunday Poem:
“Footprints to Infinity” by Michael Amitin
Jazz History Quiz #170
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In This Issue
A Collection of Jazz Poetry — Winter, 2024 Edition
...One-third of the Winter, 2024 collection of jazz poetry is made up of poets who have only come to my attention since the publication of the Summer, 2023 collection. What this says about jazz music and jazz poetry – and this community – is that the connection between the two art forms is inspirational and enduring, and that poets are finding a place for their voice within the pages of this website. (Featuring the art of Marsha Hammel)
The Sunday Poem
“A Jazz Drinker” by Ermira Mitre Kokomani
Poetry
Proceeding From Behind:
A collection of poems grounded in the rhythmic, relating to the remarkable, by Terrance Underwood...A relaxed, familiar comfort emerges from the poet Terrance Underwood’s language of intellectual acuity, wit, and space – a feeling similar to one gets while listening to Monk, or Jamal, or Miles. I have long wanted to share his gifts as a poet on an expanded platform, and this 33-poem collection – woven among his audio readings, music he considers significant to his story, and brief personal comments – fulfills my desire to do so.
Black History
A Black History Month Profile:
The Harlem Globetrotters...In this 2005 interview, Ben Green, author of
Spinning the Globe: The Rise, Fall, and Return to Greatness of the Harlem Globetrotters,
discusses the complex history of the celebrated Black touring basketball team.
Black History
A Black History Month Profile:
Zora Neale Hurston
...In a 2002 interview, Carla Kaplan, editor of
Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters,
talks about the novelist, anthropologist, playwright, folklorist, essayist and poet
Black History
A Black History Month Profile
– Pianist and composer Eubie Blake...In this 2021
Jerry Jazz Musician
interview, Eubie Blake biographers Ken Bloom and Richard Carlin discuss the legendary composer of American popular song and jazz during the 20th century
Feature
On the Turntable
— The “Best Of the ‘Best Of’” in 2023 jazz recordings...A year-end compilation of jazz albums oft mentioned by a wide range of critics as being the best of 2023 - including the late trumpeter Jamie Branch's
Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))
Poetry
In a recent local community event focusing on the environment, the Portland, Oregon poet Emmet Wheatfall – whose jazz poetry has been published on Jerry Jazz Musician – talks about the connection between poetry and the environment, and the impact of climate change on poets and other artists, and the rest of humanity.
Essay
"Jazz and American Poetry," an essay by Tad Richards...
In an essay that first appeared in the
Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Poetry
in 2005, Tad Richards - a prolific visual artist, poet, novelist, and nonfiction writer who has been active for over four decades – writes about the history of the connection of jazz and American poetry.
Interview
Interview with Gary Carner, author of
Pepper Adams: Saxophone Trailblazer
...The author speaks with Bob Hecht about his book and his decades-long dedication to the genius of Pepper Adams, the stellar baritone saxophonist whose hard-swinging bebop style inspired many of the top-tier modern baritone players.
Poetry
Three poets and
Sketches of Spain
Interview
Interview with Judith Tick, author of
Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song
...The author discusses her book, a rich, emotionally stirring, exceptional work that explores every element of Ella’s legacy in great depth, reminding readers that she was not only a great singing artist, but also a musical visionary and social activist.
Poetry
Trading Fours with Douglas Cole
is an occasional series of the writer’s poetic interpretations of jazz recordings and film. This edition is influenced by
Stillpoint
, the 2021 album by Zen practitioner Barrett Martin
Playlist
“Latin Tinges in Modern Jazz” – a playlist by Bob Hecht
...A nine-hour long Spotify playlist featuring songs by the likes of Horace Silver, Lee Morgan, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Ahmad Jamal, and Dizzy Gillespie that demonstrates how the Latin music influence on jazz has been present since the music’s beginnings.
Poetry
“On Becoming A Jazz Fanatic In The Early 1970’s” – 20 linked short poems by Daniel Brown
Short Fiction
Short Fiction Contest-winning story #64 — “The Old Casino” by J.B. Marlow
...The author's award-winning story takes place over the course of a young man's life, looking at all the women he's loved and how the presence of a derelict building informs those relationships.
Feature
True Jazz Stories:
“An Evening With George,” by Terry Sanville...The writer tells his story of playing guitar with a symphony orchestra, backing up jazz legend George Shearing.
Short Fiction
“Afloat” – a finalist in the 64th
Jerry Jazz Musician
Short Fiction Contest – is about a troubled man in his 40s who lessens his worries by envisioning himself and loved ones on a boat that provides safety and ease for all of them.
Poetry
In a Place of Dreams:
Connie Johnson’s album of jazz poetry, music, and life stories...A collection of the remarkable poet's work is woven among her audio readings, a personal narrative of her journey and music she considers significant to it, providing readers the chance to experience the full value of her gifts.
Short Fiction
“Sayir” – a short story by Ron Perovich
Book Excerpt
Book Excerpt from
Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song,
by Judith Tick
...The author writes about highlights of Ella’s career, and how the significance of her
Song Book
recordings is an example of her “becoming” Ella.
Poetry
A collection of jazz haiku, Vol. 2
...The 19 poets included in this collection effectively share their reverence for jazz music and its culture with passion and brevity.
Short Fiction
The trumpet melody glided on a cloud of clarinet and trombone notes. All three instruments dipped and soared over a rhythmical sea of piano, bass, and drums.
Community
Nominations for the Pushcart Prize XLVIII
Interview
Interview with Brent Hayes Edwards, co-author (with Henry Threadgill) of
Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music
...The author discusses his work co-written with Threadgill, the composer and multi-instrumentalist widely recognized as one of the most original and innovative voices in contemporary music, and the winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Poetry
“Remembering Mose,” a poem by John Kendall Hawkins
Playlist
“A Baker’s Dozen Playlist of Ella Fitzgerald Specialties from Five Decades,” as selected by Ella biographer Judith Tick
...Chosen from Ella’s entire repertoire, Ms. Tick’s intriguing playlist (with brief commentary) is a mix of studio recordings, live dates, and video, all available for listening here.
Jazz History Quiz #170
This bassist played with (among others) Charlie Parker, Erroll Garner, Nat King Cole and Dexter Gordon (pictured), was one of the earliest modern jazz tuba soloists, and was the only player to turn down offers to join both Duke Ellington’s Orchestra and the Louis Armstrong All-Stars. Who is he?
Interview
From the Interview Archive:
A 2011 conversation with Alyn Shipton, author of
Hi-De-Ho: The Life of Cab Calloway
...In this interview, Shipton discusses Cab Calloway, whose vocal theatrics and flamboyant stage presence made him one of the country’s most beloved entertainers.
Community
Nominations for the Pushcart Prize XLVIII...
announcing the six
Jerry Jazz Musician
-published writers nominated for the prestigious literary award
Poetry
“Devotion” – a poem and 11 “Musings on Monk,” by Connie Johnson
Photography
Beginning in 1990, the noted photographer Giovanni Piesco began taking backstage photographs of many of the great musicians who played in Amsterdam’s Bimhuis, that city’s main jazz venue which is considered one of the finest in the world.
Jerry Jazz Musician
will occasionally publish portraits of jazz musicians that Giovanni has taken over the years. This edition is of the pianist/composer Mal Waldron, taken on three separate appearances at Bimhuis (1996, 2000 and 2001).
Interview
A Black History Month Profile:
Civil Rights Leader Bayard Rustin
...
Community
.“Community Bookshelf, #1"
...a twice-yearly space where writers who have been published on
Jerry Jazz Musician
can share news about their recently authored books. This edition includes information about books published within the last six months or so…
Short Fiction
“The Winslows Take New Orleans” a short story by Mary Liza Hartong
...This story, a finalist in the recently concluded 64th
Jerry Jazz Musician
Short Fiction Contest, tells the tale of Uncle Cheapskate and Aunt Whiner, those pesky relatives you love to hate and hate to love.
Short Fiction
“A Single Furtive Tear” – a short story by Dora Emma Esze
...A short-listed entry in the recently concluded 64th
Jerry Jazz Musician
Short Fiction Contest, the story is a heartfelt, grateful monologue to one Italian composer, dead and immortal of course, whose oeuvre means so much to so many of us.
Interview
Interview with Alyn Shipton, author of
The Gerry Mulligan 1950’s Quartets
...Long regarded as jazz music’s most eminent baritone saxophonist, Gerry Mulligan was a central figure in “cool” jazz whose contributions to it also included his important work as a composer and arranger. Noted jazz scholar Alyn Shipton, author of
The Gerry Mulligan 1950s Quartets
, and
Jerry Jazz Musician
contributing writer Bob Hecht discuss Mulligan’s unique contributions to modern jazz.
Book Excerpt
“Chick” Webb was one of the first virtuoso drummers in jazz and an innovative bandleader dubbed the “Savoy King,” who reigned at Harlem’s world-famous Savoy Ballroom. Stephanie Stein Crease is the first to fully tell Webb’s story in her biography,
Rhythm Man: Chick Webb and the Beat that Changed America
…The book’s entire introduction is excerpted here.
Short Fiction
“The Silent Type,” a short story by Tom Funk
...The story, a finalist in the recently concluded 64th Short Fiction Contest, is inspired by the classic Bob Dylan song “Tangled Up in Blue” which speculates about what might have been the back story to the song.
Book Excerpt
Book excerpt from
Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music
, by Henry Threadgill and Brent Hayes Edwards
Contributing Writers
Click the image to view the writers, poets and artists whose work has been published on
Jerry Jazz Musician
, and find links to their work
Art
Designed for Dancing: How Midcentury Records Taught America to Dance:
“Outtakes” — Vol. 2...In this edition, the authors Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder share examples of Cha Cha Cha record album covers that didn't make the final cut in their book
Pressed for All Time
“Pressed For All Time,” Vol. 17 — producer Joel Dorn on Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s 1967 album,
The Inflated Tear
Coming Soon
An interview with Tad Richards, author of
Jazz With a Beat: Small Group Swing, 1940 - 1960
; an interview with Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz, authors of
But Will You Love Me Tomorrow? An Oral History of the 60's Girl Groups
; a new collection of jazz poetry; a collection of jazz haiku; a new Jazz History Quiz; short fiction; poetry; photography; interviews; playlists; and lots more in the works...
Interview Archive
Click to view the complete 22 year archive of
Jerry Jazz Musician
interviews, including those recently published with Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom on Eubie Blake (pictured); Richard Brent Turner on jazz and Islam; Alyn Shipton on the art of jazz; Shawn Levy on the original queens of standup comedy; Travis Atria on the expatriate trumpeter Arthur Briggs; Kitt Shapiro on her life with her mother, Eartha Kitt; Will Friedwald on Nat King Cole; Wayne Enstice on the drummer Dottie Dodgion; the drummer Joe La Barbera on Bill Evans; Philip Clark on Dave Brubeck; Nicholas Buccola on James Baldwin and William F. Buckley; Ricky Riccardi on Louis Armstrong; Dan Morgenstern and Christian Sands on Erroll Garner; Maria Golia on Ornette Coleman.
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