“Since 1970” — a poem by Phil Linz

 

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Larry Knupp, 1952 – 2017

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Since 1970

(for Larry)

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It’s all about the jazz…
…………Sonny Fortune at Boomer’s
…………Illinois Jacquet on 58^th Street
…………Duvivier and Cheatham at Highlights

It’s all about the jazz…
…………Tito Puente, Ray Barreto, Celia Cruz
…………Blindfold tests on West End Avenue
…………Smoky Schaefer concerts at Wollman Rink

It’s all about the jazz…
…………The only white boy at Gil Scott-Heron
………….“I’m a mulatto;” the angry brothers laughing
…………Black urban poetry years before rap

It’s all about the jazz…
…………Tennis in Baldwin with pitchers afterward
…………The Mini Cinema, Tower Records and J&R
…………Radio City and Highlights at NYU, and Pace

It’s all about the jazz…
…………The real Ray Lundin ripping up the notebook
…………Harry Katzan and FORTRAN on punch cards
…………Texaco, Pfizer, Levitton and the City of New York

It’s all about the jazz…
…………Newport and Kool and JVC and Ken Burns
…………Peggy and Anita and Sassy and Ella
…………Dizzy and Dexter and Stan and Basie

It’s all about the jazz…
…………Closing the bar after we’d dropped off the girls
…………Asthma and diabetes and now pneumonia
…………A loving partner in Ruth Ann, twenty years, now

It’s all about the jazz…
…………All the changes a lifetime brings
T……….The growth; the continuance; the collections
…………A friendship lasting more than thirty years:

It’s always, always, always:  it’s always all about the jazz.

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……………………………………….East Brunswick, NJ/August 02

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Phil Linz was born in Brooklyn, NY, and was raised in the Rockaway Beach section of Queens, NY.  He has also lived in New Orleans, Tucson, Los Angeles, New York City (East Village), Morrisville, PA, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, and Pooler, GA; since October 2011 he has lived in Wilmington, DE.  After almost 40 years as a working chemist, Mr. Linz retired in May, 2018.

He’s been writing poetry since 1971 and is the founder and publisher of Fierce Grace Press, which specializes in chapbooks, believing in the concept of “Publishing Under the Radar.”

A new book called “The Chapbooks” includes selections from his eight published and two unpublished collections; tentative publication date is October 2019,  “Since 1970,” included in the book, was written for Larry Krupp, a drinking & jazz buddy; Larry passed in April, 2017.

Mr. Linz may be reached at [email protected].

 

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Clark Terry and Wes Montgomery play “Just Friends”

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