Four poets, four poems…A quartet of jazz poetry

April 3rd, 2019

.

.

 

.

.

swing = joy

…………………(for jym marks via charles lloyd)

mr swingboy
swing swing swing
a swingful noise
ode to swing
the swing luck club
swing to the world
swingful and triumphant
the swing of sex
the swing of cooking
my swing today knows
no bounds
no limit to my
swingfulness
swings eternally
infinity of swing
why anything
other than
swing?
no antonym
swing is
what all of this
is about
swing is
a much better
word
joy has an opposite in
sadness
swing doesn’t
so none of that here
because swing
alone
is

 

………………………………………….Published in Quadrant Magazine (Australia) 2013

 

by Ed Coletti

.

.

.

I Like Jazz

I like jazz, no, love it!
Like to improvise, like changing chords,
Like turning errors to rewards;
Spontaneous and in-the-moment:
In and out.
So gratifying.

I like treating life like jazz;
Mistakes that colour
Brighten up an old worn theme;
Augment esteem
And in some way,
Too mesmerising to portray
In chords or words,
Humbly proffer sweetest curds
Of love.

I’m lucky.
I can play the stuff,
Playing ’round, say, off the cuff.
Where fears are fluff and disappear.
What could be better?

I might show up one day playing
With my nose
Or on my elbows.
Who knows
How far improvising goes?

As my life grows shorter,
As my jazz gets freer
All the waters of my melodies find power
That I never knew were there.

Who knows where these ideas come from?
When they come or how they come,
No end of gushing’s sum,
The hum of thinking factory and factor
A continuum of energy
To enhance my jazz and me.

.

by Arlene Corwin

.

.

,

Snapping Those Strings

The stars
don’t have
a chance
and that moon
up there
fat with cheese
smiling silver
and winking cold
holds not
a candle
to the man
and his guitar
pulling strings
thick like
Christmas bows
each note
popping up
like the sun
but that to
can’t hold
no heat
when those
picking fingers
snap into
fire
flaming alive
the song
from smoke
to blazing
burning jive
sweating the
foreheads and
hands with
the jazz
from that
man.

.

by Roger Singer

.

.

.

Renaissance Music

Spring again,
everything that blooms
slurs yellow-green powder
into the blue,
a Rhapsody In Blue
with its own
clarinet glissando,
a lick
that fills the air
with life so thick
it can almost be heard
as it drifts
from leaf to leaf,
higher and higher
toward a concordant cadence
that articulates
the profound colors to come
and a melody
that sings an ode
to summer.

.

by Michael Keshigian

.

.

.

___

.

.

 

 

Ed Coletti is a poet widely published internationally and he curates the popular blog “No Money In Poetry.” Additionally, Ed is a painter. middling chess player, and harmonica player. He lives with his wife Joyce in Santa Rosa, California.

.

.

.

Arlene Corwin has been a jazz musician since 1951, and continues to work as a pianist/singer in Sweden, where she now resides. Her mother owned a jazz club with Slim Gaillard in Hempstead, Long Island called The Turf. She has published 17 books of poetry.

.

.

 

Roger Singer is a prolific and accomplished contributing poet who we have proudly published for many years. Singer has had almost 800 poems published in magazines, periodicals and online journals — 400 of which are jazz poems — and has recently self-published a Kindle edition of his book of jazz poetry called Poetic Jazz.

“Jazz poetry flows out with such ease,” Singer writes on his blog. “The people and places, the alleys and sawdust jazz clubs. The stories that bring jazz alive with horns and voices, from sadness and grief to highs at midnight and love gone wrong. The jazz is within us all. Find your poem and feel the music.”

.

.

.

Michael Keshigian’s eleventh poetry collection, Inexplicable was released in November, 2016 by Black Poppy Review. Other published books and chapbooks:Beyond,Dark Edges,Eagle’s Perch,Wildflowers,Jazz Face, Warm Summer Memories, Silent Poems, Seeking Solace, Dwindling Knight, Translucent View. Published in numerous national and international journals, he is a 6- time Pushcart Prize and 2-time Best Of The Net nominee. His poetry cycle,Lunar Images, set for Clarinet, Piano, Narrator, was premiered at Del Mar College in Texas. Subsequent performances occurred in Boston (Berklee College) and Moleto, Italy. .Winter Moon, a poem set for Soprano and Piano, premiered in Boston.(michaelkeshigian.com).

.

.

.

Share this:

Comment on this article:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Site Archive

Your Support is Appreciated

Jerry Jazz Musician has been commercial-free since its inception in 1999. Your generous donation helps it remain that way. Thanks very much for your kind consideration.

Click here to read about plans for the future of Jerry Jazz Musician.

Community

Calling All Poets…Submissions guidelines for the anthology “Black History in Poetry”...We are currently seeking poetry from writers of all backgrounds for Black History in Poetry, an anthology scheduled for publication in the Summer of 2026. The anthology will be a means of celebrating and honoring notable Black Americans by offering poetry that teems with imagery, observation, emotion, memory, testimony, insight, impact, and humanity. Our aim is to give readers a way to visualize Black history from a fresh perspective.

In This Issue

photo by William Gottlieb/design by Rhonda R. Dorsett
21 jazz poems on the 21st of November, 2025...An ongoing series designed to share the quality of jazz poetry continuously submitted to Jerry Jazz Musician. This edition features poems communicating the emotional appeal of jazz music, as well as nods to the likes of Miles Davis, Regina Carter, Maynard Ferguson, Ornette Coleman, and Max Roach.

Poetry

Ukberri.net/Uribe Kosta eta Erandioko agerkari digitala, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In Memoriam: “Color Wheels” – a poem (for Jack DeJohnette) by Mary O’Melveny

Poetry

Poems on Charlie “Bird” Parker (inspired by a painting by Al Summ) – an ekphrastic poetry collection...A collection of 25 poems inspired by the painting of Charlie Parker by the artist Al Summ.

Publisher’s Notes

A dispatch from Portland, 2025 – and Boston, 1969...Peaceful protest is nothing new to America. It is happening every day in Portland, where I live. It is what makes our country great. And those of us who grew up in the 1960’s probably have a history of protest – some turning violent – ourselves. The poet Russell Dupont shares text and photos from his experience while photographing the October, 1969 March against the [Vietnam] War in Boston, when plainclothes Federal officers attempted to confiscate his camera.

The Sunday Poem

photo via Wikimedia Commons

”Like Joe Zawinul” by Salvatore Difalco

The Sunday Poem is published weekly, and strives to include the poet reading their work.... Salvatore Difalco reads his poem at its conclusion


Click here to read previous editions of The Sunday Poem

A Letter from the Publisher

The gate at Buchenwald. Photo by Rhonda R Dorsett
War. Remembrance. Walls.
The High Price of Authoritarianism– by editor/publisher Joe Maita
...An essay inspired by my recent experiences witnessing the ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of liberation of several World War II concentration camps in Germany.

Interview

Interview with Tad Richards, author of Listening to Prestige: Chronicling its Classic Jazz Recordings, 1949 – 1972...Richards discusses his book – a long overdue history of Prestige Records that draws readers into stories involving its visionary founder Bob Weinstock, the classic recording sessions he assembled, and the brilliant jazz musicians whose work on Prestige helped shape the direction of post-war music.

Poetry

"Swing Landscape" by Stuart Davis
“Swing Landscape” – a poem by Kenneth Boyd....Kenneth Boyd writes poetry based on jazz paintings. “Swing Landscape” is written for a Stuart Davis painting of the same name.

Short Fiction

Short Fiction Contest-winning story #69 – “My Vertical Landscape,” by Felicia A. Rivers...Touched by the stories of the Philadelphia jazz clubs of the 1960s, a graffiti artist transforms an ugly wall into something beautiful – meaningful, even.

Poetry

photo via Wikimedia Commons
Jimi Hendrix - in four poems

Playlist

A sampling of jazz recordings by artists nominated for 2026 Grammy Awards – a playlist by Martin Mueller...A playlist of 14 songs by the likes of Samara Joy, Brad Mehldau, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Branford Marsalis, the Yellowjackets and other Grammy Award nominees, assembled by Martin Mueller, the former Dean of the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York.

Short Fiction

“Alas, for My Poor Heart” – a short story by Daryl Rothman...The story – a short-listed entry in the recently concluded 69th Short Fiction Contest – concerns art and its truest meanings—where you just might have to look twice at what the shadow and light of a piece says about that within your soul.

Essay

“Escalator Over the Hill – Then and Now” – by Joel Lewis...Remembering the essential 1971 album by Carla Bley/Paul Haines, inspired by the writer’s experience attending the New School’s recent performance of it

Poetry

“Still Wild” – a collection of poems by Connie Johnson...Connie Johnson’s unique and warm vernacular is the framework in which she reminds readers of the foremost contributors of jazz music, while peeling back the layers on the lesser known and of those who find themselves engaged by it, and affected by it. I have proudly published Connie’s poems for over two years and felt the consistency and excellence of her work deserved this 15 poem showcase.

Feature

photo of Barry Harris by Mirko Caserta
“With Barry Harris at the 11th Street Bar” – a true jazz story by Henry Blanke...The writer - a lifelong admirer of the pianist Barry Harris - recalls a special experience he had with him in 2015

Short Fiction

publicdomainpictures.net
“Corkscrew” – a short story by Mike Wilson...The story – a short-listed entry in the recently concluded 69th Short Fiction Contest – is about a night when everything goes wrong and everyone is annoying, an unexpected turn of events teaches a sarcastic lawyer that the old adage is true – a cynic is just a disappointed romantic.

Feature

Jazz History Quiz #184...Maurice Ravel (pictured) acknowledged basing his Bolero on an improvisation of this clarinetist, who was also influential in the careers of Benny Goodman and Nat Cole, who made famous this musician’s theme song, “Sweet Lorraine.” Who is he?

Interview

Interview with Sascha Feinstein, author of Writing Jazz: Conversations with Critics and Biographers...The collection of 14 interviews is an impressive and determined effort, one that contributes mightily to the deepening of our understanding for the music’s past impact, and fans optimism for more.

Feature

Trading Fours, with Douglas Cole, No. 26: “Bougainvillea Sutra”...An occasional series of the writer’s poetic interpretations of jazz recordings and film. In this edition, his inspiration comes from the guitarist John Scofield’s 2013 EmArcy album Uberjam Deux, and specifically the track titled “Scotown.”

Short Fiction

photo by Simon Webster
“Smoke Rings and Minor Things” – a short story by Jane McCarthy...The story – a short-listed entry in the recently concluded 69th Short Fiction Contest – is a meditation on missed chances, minor keys, and the music that outlives the room it was played in.

Essay

“J.A. Rogers’ ‘Jazz at Home’: A Centennial Reflection on Jazz Representation Through the Lens of Stormy Weather and Everyday Life – an essay by Jasmine M. Taylor...The writer opines that jazz continues to survive – 100 years after J.A. Rogers’ own essay that highlighted the artistic freedom of jazz – and has “become a fundamental core in American culture and modern Americanism; not solely because of its artistic craftsmanship, but because of the spirit that jazz music embodies.”

Publisher’s Notes

Creatives – “This is our time!“…A Letter from the Publisher...A call to action to take on political turmoil through the use of our creativity as a way to help our fellow citizens “pierce the mundane to find the marvelous.”

Community

photo of Dwike Mitchell/Willie Ruff via Bandcamp
“Tell a Story: Mitchell and Ruff’s Army Service” – an essay by Dale Davis....The author writes about how Dwike Mitchell and Willie Ruff’s U.S. Army service helped them learn to understand the fusion of different musical influences that tell the story of jazz.

Feature

Excerpts from David Rife’s Jazz Fiction: Take Two– Vol. 16: Halloween on Mars? Or…speculative jazz fiction...A substantial number of novels and stories with jazz music as a component of the story have been published over the years, and the scholar David J. Rife has written short essay/reviews of them. In this 16th edition featuring excerpts from his outstanding literary resource, Rife writes about azz-inflected speculative fiction stories (sci-fi, fantasy and horror)

Poetry

“With Ease in Mind” – poems by Terrance Underwood...It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Terrance Underwood’s poetry. I am also quite jealous of his ease with words, and of his graceful way of living, which shows up in this collection of 12 poems.

Interview

photo Louis Armstrong House Museum
Interview with Ricky Riccardi, author of Stomp Off, Let’s Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong...The author discusses the third volume of his trilogy, which includes the formation of the Armstrong-led ensembles known as the Hot Five and Hot Seven that modernized music, the way artists play it, and how audiences interact with it and respond to it.

Poetry

“November Affair” – a poem (for November) by Jerrice J. Baptiste...Jerrice J. Baptiste’s 12-month 2025 calendar of jazz poetry winds through the year with her poetic grace while inviting us to wander through music by the likes of Charlie Parker, Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Sinatra, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sarah Vaughan, Melody Gardot and Nina Simone. She welcomes November with a sensual, romantic poem that inspires a listening to Andre Previn and Doris Day’s 1962 recording of “My One and Only Love.”

Essay

“Is Jazz God?” – an essay by Allison Songbird...A personal journey leads to the discovery of the importance of jazz music, and finding love for it later in life.

Poetry

What is This Path – a collection of poems by Michael L. Newell...A contributor of significance to Jerry Jazz Musician, the poet Michael L. Newell shares poems he has written since being diagnosed with a concerning illness.

Playlist

“Look Ma, No Net!” – a playlist of nonets, by Bob Hecht...In this episode of our progressive instrumentation playlists, we add a ninth instrument to the mix to form a Nonet!

Art

photo by Giovanni Piesco
The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: Art Farmer and Benny Golson...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 features the May 10, 1996 photos of the tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger Benny Golson, and the February 13, 1997 photos of trumpet and flugelhorn player Art Farmer.

Community

Community Bookshelf #5...“Community Bookshelf” is a twice-yearly space where writers who have been published on Jerry Jazz Musician can share news about their recently authored books and/or recordings. This edition includes information about books published within the last six months or so (March, 2025 – September, 2025)

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

Coming Soon

Interview with John Gennari, author of The Jazz Barn:  Music Inn, the Berkshires, and the Place of Jazz in American Life; Also, a new Jazz History Quiz, and lots of short fiction; poetry; photography; interviews; playlists; and much more in the works......  Also, a new Jazz History Quiz, and lots of short fiction; poetry; photography; interviews; playlists; and much more in the works...

Interview Archive

Ella Fitzgerald/IISG, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Click to view the complete 25-year archive of Jerry Jazz Musician interviews, including those recently published with Judith Tick on Ella Fitzgerald (pictured),; Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz on the Girl Groups of the 60's; Tad Richards on Small Group Swing; Stephanie Stein Crease on Chick Webb; Brent Hayes Edwards on Henry Threadgill; Richard Koloda on Albert Ayler; Glenn Mott on Stanley Crouch; Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom on Eubie Blake; 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.