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photo by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
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From a Lester Gig
at The Final Arms Hotel
Brushed cymbal slide solo opens.
………………Nuanced walking bass lines follow.
…………………………….As a deft piano right hand
Complements a chorded left
………………To raise a tempo garnish
…………………………….For a swing invitation.
Now joined in this “downtown” altogether
By a nearby light smooth saxophone
………………With pronounced angular chivalry.
…………………………….A cool tenor breath
………………Mind and heart
Still pegs in life after.
Denizens within earshot barely breathe themselves
When the first intonation of sound creased that reed
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Listen to Terrance Underwood read his poem
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Terrance Underwood is a retired Gas Turbine Package Engineer whose career offered opportunities to work all over the world. A devoted jazz enthusiast, his first memory operating a mechanical devise was a 4-speed spindle drop record changer for his father’s collection of 78s. In 2024, he was nominated by Jerry Jazz Musician for a Pushcart Prize.
Click here to read Proceeding From Behind: A collection of poems grounded in the rhythmic, relating to the remarkable, by Terrance Underwood
Click here to read his collection of poems “With Ease in Mind”
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Listen to the 1956 recording of Lester Young performing the Seymour B. Simons/Gerald Marks composition “All of Me,” with Teddy Wilson (piano); Gene Ramey (bass); and Jo Jones (drums). [Universal Music Group]
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Click for:
More poetry on Jerry Jazz Musician
War. Remembrance. Walls. The High Price of Authoritarianism – by editor/publisher Joe Maita
“The Sound of Becoming,” J.C. Michaels’ winning story in the 70th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest
More short fiction on Jerry Jazz Musician
Information about how to submit your poetry or short fiction
Subscribe to the (free) Jerry Jazz Musician quarterly newsletter
Helping to support the ongoing publication of Jerry Jazz Musician, and to keep it commercial-free (thank you!)
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Jerry Jazz Musician…human produced since 1999
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