Spring 2025 Jerry Jazz Musician Newsletter

April 8th, 2025












Jerry Jazz Musician – Spring, 2025 Newsletter

In This Issue



 

Interview with Ricky Riccardi, author of Stomp Off, Let’s Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong

 

It’s safe to assume we can agree that Louis Armstrong deserved this – a comprehensive biography (now a trilogy) written with expertise, passion, and character worthy of the musician many consider to be the most influential popular music artist of the 20th century. 

Ricky Riccardi has become a major biographer whose work on Armstrong is a supreme achievement, one that the Grammy award-winning jazz musician Jon Batiste describes as “an extremely important chronicle of world history.”  The author discusses this volume of his trilogy, “Stomp Off, Let’s Go” which focuses on the most admired stage of Armstrong’s life – his complex childhood and burgeoning musical career – a time critics generally agree when his electrifying music (particularly the “Hot Five” and “Hot Seven” recordings of 1926 – 1928) and unique charismatic appeal inalterably changed the direction of popular music.

 

photo courtesy of the Louis Armstrong House Museum
 

Read the Interview



 

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.”



21 jazz poems on the 21st of March, 2025

 
An ongoing series designed to share the quality of jazz poetry continuously submitted to Jerry Jazz Musician by poets revealing their relationship to the music, and with the musicians who perform it.

art by Samuel Dixon
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An appeal…

 

Dear Readers:

Reader funding helps support the expense of publishing this website, and to keep it free of advertising – which is a rarity in the dot-com world.  Many thanks to those who have recently contributed, and to those who have done so multiple times. Your support is very much appreciated.

If you are able, please consider making a contribution?  Information regarding how to do so is found by clicking here.

For viewing my long range vision for  Jerry Jazz Musician,  please click here.

 

Thank you!

Joe Maita

Editor/Publisher



 

Short Fiction Contest-winning story #68 — “Saharan Blues on the Seine,” by Aishatu Ado

 

Aminata, a displaced Malian living in Paris, is haunted by vivid memories of her homeland. Through a supernatural encounter with her grandmother, she realizes that preserving her musical heritage through performance is an act of resistance that can transform her grief into art rather than running from it.



 

The book publication of Kinds of Cool: An Interactive Collection of Jazz Poetry

 

The first Jerry Jazz Musician poetry anthology published in book form includes 90 poems by 47 poets from all over the world, and features the brilliant artwork of Marsha Hammel and a foreword by Jack Kerouac’s musical collaborator David Amram. The collection is “interactive” (and quite unique) because it invites readers – through the use of QR codes printed on many of the book’s pages – to link to selected readings by the poets themselves, as well as to historic audio and video recordings (via YouTube) relevant to many of the poems, offering a holistic experience with the culture of jazz.
 



Interview with Phillip Freeman, author of In the Brewing Luminous: The Life and Music of Cecil Taylor

The author discusses Cecil Taylor – the most eminent free jazz musician of his era, whose music marked the farthest boundary of avant-garde jazz.

photo of Cecil Taylor by Brian McMillen



The Sunday Poem

A weekly series that includes the poet reading their work.  This edition is “The Sound of Surprise” by Dan Thompson

(photo of Dizzy Gillespie by William P. Gottileb/Library of Congress/)



Calling all Poets…an invitation to submit your work
 

Inviting poets to take note of three opportunities for having your work published on Jerry Jazz Musician



Community Bookshelf #4

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 (September, 2024 – March, 2025)



Jazz History Quiz #180

Upon leaving Charlie Barnet’s orchestra in 1941, this trumpeter wanted to start his own group, and, with the help of publicist/journalist Leonard Feather, became the first white leader in jazz history to organize an all-black group. Who was he?

photo of Charlie Barnet by William P. Gottlieb/Library of Congress

 



In his ongoing series, this extensive playlist focuses on sextets featuring legends like John Coltrane, Art Farmer, Wayne Shorter, Gigi Gryce, Curtis Fuller, Blue Mitchell and Art Blakey.  
 



Also in this issue…

 

New editions of Trading Fours with Douglas Cole, David Rife’s Jazz Fiction, The Photographs of Giovanni Piesco: True Jazz Stories; and new book excerpts, poetry, In Memoriam, short fiction, memorable quotes and playlists

Click here for the previous issue of Jerry Jazz Musician



Coming Soon to Jerry Jazz Musician

 

 

An interview with Sascha Feinstein, author of Writing Jazz: Conversations with Critics and Biographers;, Also, a new Jazz History Quiz, and lots of short fiction; poetry; photography; interviews; playlists; and much more in the works…
 

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Jerry Jazz Musician is a non-commercial website whose mission is to explore the culture of America with jazz music as the centerpiece…For information about how you can submit your work, click here. 

For information about how you can support the mission of Jerry Jazz Musician, click here.

As always, thanks for subscribing, and for sharing this email with interested readers.
 

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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.

In this Issue

A collection of poetic responses to the events of 2025...Forty poets describe their experiences with the tumultuous events of 2025, resulting in a remarkable collection of work made up of writers who may differ on what inspired them to participate, but who universally share a desire for their voice to be heard amid a changing America.

The Sunday Poem

”Never Again (Working Poems for JD Allen)” by Sean Howard

The Sunday Poem is published weekly, and strives to include the poet reading their work...

Sean Howard introduces and reads his poem


Click here to read previous editions of The Sunday Poem

Interview

photo by Warren Fowler
Interview with John Gennari, author of The Jazz Barn: Music Inn, the Berkshires, and the Place of Jazz in American Life...The author discusses how in the 1950s the Berkshires – historic home to the likes of Hawthorne, Melville, Wharton, Rockwell, and Tanglewood – became a crucial space for the performance, study, and mainstreaming of jazz, and eventually an epicenter of the genre’s avant-garde.

Poetry

photo of Red Allen by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
21 jazz poems on the 21st of February, 2026...An ongoing series designed to share the quality of jazz poetry continuously submitted to Jerry Jazz Musician. This edition features poets – several new to readers of this website – writing about their appreciation for the music, how it shows up in their daily lives, and displaying their reverence for the likes of Billy Strayhorn, Joe Henderson, Ernestine Anderson, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong and Red Garland.

Feature

photo by Laura Stanley via Pexels.com.
Trading Fours, with Douglas Cole, No. 28: “Little Samba”...Trading Fours with Douglas Cole is an occasional series of the writer’s poetic interpretations of jazz recordings and film. This edition is based largely on a documentary – They Shot the Piano Player – about Tenório Junior, a Latin jazz musician who only produced one album (1964) before he “disappeared” in 1976.

Poetry

photo by Lorie Shaull/CC BY 4.0
“Poetry written in the midst of our time” – Vol. 2...Poets within this community of writers are feeling this moment in time, and writing about it...

Poetry

photo via Wikimedia Commons
“Empire State of GRIME” – a poem by Camille R.E....The author’s free-verse poem is written as an informal letter to tourists from a native New Yorker, (and sparing no bitter opinion).

Short Fiction

photo via Freerange/CCO
Short Fiction Contest-winning story #70 – “The Sound of Becoming,” by J.C. Michaels...The story explores the inner life of a young Southeast Asian man as he navigates the tension between Eastern tradition and Western modernity.

Poetry

art by Martel Chapman
"Ancestral Suite" - A 3-Poem Collection by Connie Johnson...The poet pays homage to three giants of mid-century post-bop jazz – Booker Ervin, Lou Donaldson, and Little Jimmy Scott

Feature

“Bohemian Spirit” – A Remembrance of 1970’s Venice Beach, by Daniel Miltz...The writer recalls 1970’s Venice Beach, where creatives chased a kind of freedom that didn’t fit inside four walls…

Feature

Boris Yaro, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
“The Bowie Summer” – a personal memory, and how art can fundamentally reshape identity, by G.D. Newton-Wade

Poetry

photo via NOAA
“Taking The Littlenecks” – a prose poem by Robert Alan Felt...Expressing the joy and sorrow of life at age 71 with grace, wisdom, and appreciation.

Short Fiction

photo by Iryna Olar/pexels.com 
“The Fading” – a short story by Noah Wilson...The story – a finalist in the recently concluded 70th Short Fiction Contest – examines the impact of genetic illness on a family of musicians and artists.

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.

Short Fiction

Davidmitcha, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
“Blue Monday” – a short story by Ashlee Trahan...The story – a finalist in the recently concluded 70th Short Fiction Contest – is an imagining of a day in the life of the author’s grandfather’s friendship with the legendary Fats Domino.

Poetry

National Archives of Norway, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
“Wonderful World” – a poem by Dan Thompson

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.

Jazz History Quiz

photo by Mel Levine/pinelife, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jazz History Quiz #186...While he had a long career in jazz, including stints with, among others, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Sonny Stitt and Stan Getz, he will always be remembered primarily as the pianist in Charlie Parker’s classic 1947 quintet. Who is he?

Playlist

“Darn! All These Dreams!” – a playlist by Bob Hecht...In this edition, the jazz aficionado Bob Hecht’s 13-song playlist centers on one tune, the great Jimmy Van Heusen/Eddie DeLange standard, “Darn That Dream,” with the first song being a solo musician recording and each successive version adding an instrument.

Poetry

Wikimedia Commons
“Dorothy Parker, an Icon of the Jazz Age” – a poem by Jane McCarthy

Short Fiction

“The Mysterious Axeman’s Jazz” – a story by Ruth Knafo Setton...Upon returning from the horrors of World War II to post-war New Orleans, a trumpeter learns of a dark secret that reveals how his family fought their own evil, and uses jazz to bury the ghosts of war and reclaim the light through music.

Feature

photo via Wikimedia Commons
Memorable Quotes – Lawrence Ferlinghetti, on a pitiable nation

Short Fiction

photo by Bowen Liu
“Going” – a short story by D.O. Moore...A short-listed entry in the recently concluded 70th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest, “Going” tells of a traumatic flight experience that breaks a woman out of her self-imposed confines and into an acceptance that she has no control of her destiny.

Community

Nominations for the Pushcart Prize L (50)...Announcing the six writers nominated for the Pushcart Prize v. L (50), whose work appeared on the web pages of Jerry Jazz Musician or within print anthologies I edited during 2025.

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

“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

Albert Ayler’s Spiritual Unity – A Classic of Our Time, and for All Time – an essay by Peter Valente...On the essence of Albert Ayler’s now classic 1964 album…

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

An interview with Paul Alexander, author of Bitter Crop: The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday's Last Year; New poetry collections, 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.