“Reading poetry is a way of connecting – through the medium of language – more deeply with yourself even as you connect more deeply with another.”

-Edward Hirsch, poet, critic and author of How to Read a Poem, and Fall in Love With Poetry

.

Mr. Hirsch’s observation feels especially suitable for this community, one that is connected by its love of writing (and reading) about jazz.

The music is vibrant and emotionally charged, its players diverse in ethnicity and vision, and its culture rich and historic. Jazz provides a canvas of opportunity for a poet stirred by its borderless spirit.

This is evident in this broad collection of poetry authored by an impressive assemblage of regular contributors and established poets new to this publication – all of whom open their imagination and hearts to the abundant creative experience they derive from this art.

As always, thanks to the poets and readers, and I hope you enjoy….

Joe

(Featuring the art of Marsha Hammel)

Interview with Shawn Levy, author of In On the Joke: The Original Queens of Stand-up Comedy
 

“A personal loss, and a self-restoration” – by editor/publisher Joe Maita

Reflecting on a major life change, and where I go from here.

Interview with Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder, authors of Designed For Dancing: How Midcentury Records Taught America to Dance

The authors discuss how dance records of mid-century America were a primary resource for learning the steps, and how the convergence of dancing and music – and album cover art – impacted American identity..

(album is Boyd Raeburn and His Orchestra; Dance Spectacular/Columbia CL 889/1956)

Veryl Oakland’s “Jazz in Available Light” — photos (and stories) of John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana

John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana are featured in this edition of photographs and stories from Veryl Oakland’s book, Jazz in Available Light

(photo by Veryl Oakland)

Short Fiction Contest-winning story #60 — “Thrush” by Owen Duffy

The winner of the the 60th edition of the Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest is a neo-noir story of a young singer snuffed out by the music business early in her career, either by chance or malice…

(photo via Dreamstime.com)

“Black Sufferance / Insufferable Whites – A conversation with Reverend Dr. James Henry Harris,” by John Hawkins
 

In his book, N: My Encounter with Racism and the Forbidden Word in an American Classic, James Henry Harris confronts the frequent use of the “fordidden word” in Mark Twain’s Adventures Huckleberry Finn. Contributing writer John Hawkins joins the author in a wide-ranging conversation about America’s continued and complex relationship with race.

(The cover of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the second (first US-published) 1885 edition of the book)

“Yalies Save Ellington Tune from Obscurity,” a true jazz story by Janet Lever, with Brad Dechter
 

The story of a most unusual 32^nd birthday preset – a rewrite and performance of Duke Ellington’s little-known 1953 composition “Janet.”

Jazz History Quiz #155
 

This pianist – known for his tasteful swinging and bop-based style – was Ella Fitzgerald’s regular accompanist from 1963 – 1965, and again from 1968 – 1978. Who was he?
 
 
(Photo of Ella Fitzgerald by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress)

Also in this issue…

In the new edition of “Pressed For All Time,” producer Teo Macero talks with Michael Jarrett about working with Miles Davis on the classic 1969 Columbia Records recording, Bitches Brew; a Spotify playlist featuring over 40 jazz versions of George Gershwin’s composition “Summertime”; a new edition of “Trading Fours with Douglas Cole“; a new edition of “Sittin’ In:  Jazz Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s” focuses on two Harlem night spots, the Apollo Theater and the Club Baby Grand; new editions True Jazz Stories; and new book excerpts, poetry and short fiction

In the Previous Issue

A Collection of Jazz Poetry — Spring, 2022 Edition; an interview with Richard Brent Turner, author of Soundtrack to a Movement: African American Islam, Jazz, and Black Internationalism; an interview with drummer Joe LaBarbera about his time with Bill Evans; and more…
 

(painting by Corey Barksdale)

Coming Soon to Jerry Jazz Musician