.
.
“Momentum Independent,” by Martel Chapman
.
.
My Choice: Free Jazz
free jazz
…..the perfect soundtrack
…..……….for chaos
Eric Dolphy
…………………..on my mind
…………..as I swing blue
Straight Up and Down
…………………..zig zag solo
……………….we go high
…………..they go low
Free Jazz!
……………………the antidote
……………the free life vote
…….and I’m mystified
………..as to how easily
……..this life
can turn
.
by Connie Johnson
.
.
___
.
.
A Flicker for Roland
Nurse with wound, at least
Cold / fever sneezes
Or worse
…mad, Roland said,
Creating The Inflated Tear
Sour clarion / invention sourced in blues & beyond
Black Mystery has been revealed
Ellery plays it
Ari – Roland in the Serengeti
Where a devastating virus
Was introduced
By an Italian expeditionary force.
.
by Stephen C. Middleton
.
.
___
.
.
Furrows (for Evan Parker and Roscoe Mitchell)
Drawn from Boustrophedon, Transatlantic Art Ensemble, ECM, 2008
“The title ‘Boustrophedon’ alludes to…a Greek word meaning ‘turning like an ox while ploughing,’ it was a method of writing ancient manuscripts in which the first line would run from left to right, the second from right to left and so on, as if furrowing a field.”
Steve Lake, sleeve notes
.
the bright shares; birds scatter the fields. steps out: sidewalks, wings… thin i – figure skating
…earth to fall long the ?mind of top .prose mouth-foul .release companion silence’s .stilts on
*
print rain: computer age, the ancient world. yoked angels; the ox’s wings. lord the drummer
.expelled breath :unread now poetry most but (…structures power agitations when) appears!
*
politics, folk conducted? (influencers, bartók and beckett…) players, people live streaming –
…window the at rain, canvases 50 ;stand blue music’s !ensemble the in audience our finding
*
ground moments: the clarinet’s decision. (piano and flute.) in turbulent concert: the baton’s pre-
.funds trust music the .field the unifying wind ;(stones moving atoms) being string to ?dictions
*
choice moments: working for sound’s organization, or contingency’s agency? composers: flow-
…viola, violin :turns solo the .successions rapid (…ocean the by ,self the) …roots the by, ers
*
sick of fields from trains. (rise and fall: jacob scaling, snaking ladders…) no, the troupes un-
…needs meeting what .current incarnation’s ?us acquired that terms the refusing !assemble
.
by Sean Howard
.
.
___
.
.
.
Sean Howard is the author of six books of poetry, most recently Trinity: Tribute Sequences for Robert Graves (Gaspereau Press, Canada, 2022). Sean’s poetry has been widely published in Canada, the US, UK, and elsewhere, and featured in The Best of the Best Canadian Poetry in English (Tightrope Books, 2017). Sean is adjunct professor of political science at Cape Breton University, and writes a monthly ‘War & Peace’ column for the Cape Breton Spectator.
.
.
___
.
.
Connie Johnson is from Los Angeles, CA and four of her poems have been Pushcart Prize-nominated. Her publishing credits include San Pedro River Review, The Muleskinner Journal, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Sport Literate, Writing in a Woman’s Voice, Sheila Na-Gig, Gargoyle, and Syncopation Literary Journal. Everything is Distant Now (Blue Horse Press) is her debut poetry collection; In a Place of Dreams, her digital album/chapbook, was published by Jerry Jazz Musician, which can be viewed by clicking here
.
.
___
.
.
.
Stephen C. Middleton is a writer working in London, England. He has had five books published, and been in several anthologies. He was editor of Ostinato, a magazine of jazz and jazz related poetry. He has been published in magazines worldwide, including in the US, Australia, Canada, the UK, & mainland Europe.
.
.
___
.
.
Martel Chapman found artistic inspiration in Francis Wolff’s cover photograph of John Coltrane’s Blue Train album, and has been creating art honoring the artistic geniuses of jazz music ever since.
Click here to visit his website
.
.
Listen to the 1964 recording of Eric Dolphy performing “Straight Up and Down,” with Dolphy (alto sax); Freddie Hubbard (trumpet); Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone); Richard Davis (bass); and Tony Williams (drums). [Universal Music Group]
.
.
Listen to the 1967 recording of Rahsaan Roland Kirk playing “The Inflated Tear,” with Kirk (tenor saxophone, whistles, flute); Rahn Burton (piano); Steve Novosel (bass); and Jimmy Hopps (drums). [Rhino/Atlantic]
.
.
Listen to the 2008 recording of the Transatlantic Art Ensemble performing “Furrow 1” from the album Boustrophedon. Principal performers include Evan Parker (soprano saxophone); Craig Taborn (piano); Roscoe Mitchell (alto saxophone); Jaribu Shahid (bass); Barry Guy (bass); Tani Tabbal (drums); Paul Lytton (drums). [Universal Music Group]
.
.
.
___
.
.
Click for:
More poetry on Jerry Jazz Musician
“Bluesette,” Salvatore Difalco’s winning story in the 67th 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!)
.
___
.
.
Jerry Jazz Musician…human produced since 1999
.
.
.
