Kicking it

Kicking it

Kicking it
relaxing playing
it cool as cold as
hip as could be
cats vibing together
just feeling it out
just kicking it
wondering where
it will all take us.

My sketch of Roy Hargrove

Inspired by Roy Hargrove playing, "Strasbourg St. Denis". 

All

All

All of
all of every
thing all of
every sound
all of each
note each line
each be each
bop all of ba
dop ba dee ba
zap e doo wap
all of it
all of me.

My sketch of Johnny Hodges

Inspired by Johnny Hodges playing, "All of Me".

Blues

Blues

What a color
so deep so strong
a tinge of red a swipe
of yellow a stroke
of purple and a canvas
of blue.

My sketch of Hank Jones

Inspired by Hank Jones playing, "Bluesette".

Green street

Green street

Green street
snow street
skating across the
icy path
green street
snow street
green dolphin street.

My sketch of Wynton Kelly

Inspired by Wynton Kelly playing, "On Green Dolphin Street".

Bye bye

Bye bye

I used to think
wonder dream
that bye bye
bye
bye
was just a phrase
a simple little chant
nothing truly true
but maybe bye bye
bye
bye
is a little hum
to welcome a hi
hi
hello
to a new beginning.

My sketch of Red Garland

Inspired by Red Garland playing, "Bye Bye Blackbird".

Peace

Peace

Eternal bliss
eternal purity
eternity
and the sweet
smiling coo of
eternal peace.

My sketch of Horace Silver

Inspired by Horace Silver playing, "Peace".

We will meet again

We will meet again

Every once and a while
I take a turn out the
back window
and I sense the hammock
swaying
back and forth
back and forth
nodding toward me and
as I rush to meet you I
plop
right down on the
heavy fabric and
gush out a million
different things
anxiously
excitedly
amusingly
back and forth
back and forth
laughing as the sun seems
to turn a bit more towards
the clouds and I sense the
air cooling a bit to finally
realize
we will meet again
but not today.

My sketch of Herbie Mann

Inspired by Herbie Mann and Phil Woods playing, "We Will Meet Again".

Science Fiction

Science Fiction

Outer space falls
up down within
above across diagonal
to every day occurrences
the stars seem to line
up and the planets seem
to jot an electric story line
mysterious hazy futuristic
boom whash boom crash
zing zap za zing za zap
Outer spaces falls
somewhere between
science fiction and now.

My sketch of Reid Anderson

Inspired by hearing The Bad Plus play Ornette Coleman's album, "Science Fiction".

Space

Space

Space
jumping high
kneeling low
mysterious and
hazy and far off
a dream within a
dream.

My sketch of Bill Frisell

Inspired by Bill Frisell's "Guitar in the Space Age".

Soul

Soul

If it ain't  got soul
it ain't got nothing
and nothing of anything
can't mean something
without you.

My sketch of Coleman Hawkins

Inspired by Coleman Hawkins playing, "Body and Soul".

Come fly

Come fly

Come fly in the sky
swinging hanging floating high
come fly in the sky.

My sketch of Frank Sinatra

Inspired by Frank Sinatra singing, "Come Fly with Me".

Joy

Joy

Joy for the day
joy for the living
joy for you and me
and her and him
joy for each one of us
that wraps our arms
around each day
joy for the sun
the stars the sky
joy for the song
joy for the silence
joy for music that
isn't even music
hums of footsteps
lost conversations
whispers chirps chuckles
joy for the day
joy for the night
joy for joy's sake.

My sketch of Clifford Brown

Inspired by Clifford Brown playing, "Joy Spring".

Windows

Windows

Tough torrents tip toe
jarring
closed
to
open
a new beginning.

My sketch of Chick Corea

Inspired by Chick Corea playing, "Windows".

Along

Along

Along it all goes
along it seems
the game played

b
e
g
i
n
n
i
n
g

to

e
n
d

along and along and along.

My sketch of Art Blakey

Inspired by Art Blakey playing, "Along Came Betty".

Things ain't what they used to be

Things ain't what they used to be

Things ain't what they used to be
everything goes round and round
spinning through my ears spinning
hurtling through my feet hurtling
leaping in my head leaping
jumping in my heart jumping
things ain't what they used to be
but maybe change isn't half bad.

My sketch of Benny Carter

Inspired by Benny Carter playing, "Things Ain't What They Used To Be".

Lovin

Lovin

A be and a bopping away
I put my horn down just to
hear a sound that comes
certainly out of the blue
what a sound! I say
as it withers away
and the tune seems to
strike me again
what a sound! I hum
along as it trails along
oh my! why it's love
come again.

My sketch of Phil Woods

My sketch of Greg Abate and Phil Woods (L to R)

Listen to Phil Woods playing, "Be My Love".

Sunflower

Sunflower

Sure it's easy to grow in the
sun but the cold the snow the
hail the ice the drought the harsh
times dry soil no fertilizer
sure it's easy to grow as a
sunflower but is it ever easy to
grow as a person?

My sketch of Freddie Hubbard

Inspired by Freddie Hubbard playing, "Little Sunflower".

What a difference

What a difference

What a difference
a day makes
what a difference
the sky makes
when it's clear blue
puffy white clouds
chilling the air
what a difference
a day makes
what a difference
the sun makes
looming among the
atmosphere propelling
lightness in the air
what a difference
a day makes
what a difference
you make each day.

My sketch of Dinah Washington

Inspired by Dinah Washington playing, "What a Difference a Day Makes".

All the things

All the things

All the things you
are were will be
flash across the sand
skipping tic tac toe
hopscotching across
castles upon castles.

My sketch of Keith Jarrett

Inspired by Keith Jarrett playing, "All the Things You Are".

Memories of you

Memories of you

Memories of you echo
through the air memories
of you hum through the
trees memories of
you buzz through the
floor I stand upon
Man,
memories
of
you
nowadays -
sing sweeter songs
then just
you.

My sketch of Earl Hines

Inspired by Earl Hines playing, "Memories of You".

Off key

Off key

Everything seems to be off key
between just you and me
and though I tumble and fumble
the tune is always there.

My sketch of Stan Getz

Inspired by Stan Getz playing, "Desafinado".

Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage 

And they said the
most awfully true thing
one could say and they
said the most heart shattering
thing one could say and
they said that you have to
leave and go alone and they
said it would be a pilgrimage.

My sketch of Michael Brecker

Inspired by Michael Brecker playing, "Pilgrimage".

Gemini

Gemini

Gemini
Astrological
Astronomical
Gemini
Astronomical
Astrological
Gemini.

My sketch of Cannonball Adderley

Inspired by Cannonball Adderley playing, "Gemini".

Home

Home

Da da ba da da da ba
da ba da dop ba
Da da ba da da da ba
da ba da dop ba
Bop doo bop ba
Bop doo bop ba
Da ba doo bap ba
Da ba doo bap ba
Home.

My sketch of Ahmad Jamal

Inspired by Ahmad Jamal playing, "Poinciana".

As of now

As of now

As of now
what happened
simply happened
and the schedule we
built, the unit structures,
the formulas for what was
is simply that - was.

My sketch of Cecil Taylor

Inspired by Cecil Taylor playing, "Unit Structures".

Sing

Sing

Sing dance hum
hop swish swash
crash leap hover
sing sing sing
swing swing swing.

My sketch of Benny Goodman

Inspired by Benny Goodman playing, "Sing, Sing, Sing".

Shout

Shout

Shout holler coo caw
yawn swoosh swash swish
to and from from and to
swish swash swoosh yawn
caw coo holler shout.

My sketch of James P. Johnson

Inspired by James P. Johnson playing, "Carolina Shout".

It ain't so

It ain't so

As the sun resides
and the moon approaches
the wind howls and the
trees whistle ooh and aah
it ain't so no it just ain't so

all hatred should be buried in snow.

My sketch of Mary Lou Williams

Inspired by Mary Lou Williams playing, "It Ain't Necessarily So".

Peace

Peace

Everything seems to wobble
in a sort of crystal silence
in a sort of tranquil typhoon
a hurricane of untroubled harmony
a moment of serene a second of calm
just peace.

My sketch of Bill Evans

Inspired by Bill Evans playing, "Peace Piece".

Guardian

Guardian

What we hold 

as we play each golden note

what we hold 

as we take each silver breath

is a guardianship

of tradition

is the power of a 

privilege

to develop an art

to come together as a community 

to preach kindness

to love each person

to educate the world 

to listen more than we speak

to utter joy upon each reflection

what we hold 

with each crystal note

is a bead of hope

and a ray of peace. 

Listen to my poem here:

Inspired by Danilo Perez and Robert Pinsky. Poem written and spoken by Grace-Mary Burega. Music composed and mixed by Grace-Mary Burega. Art created by Grace-Mary Burega.

For more jazz posts, visit "Kind of Pink and Purple".

Not for me

Not for me

Whoosh splash crash
ba dap e da dee doo bop
whoosh splash crash
da dap e da dee doo e zap
whoosh splash crash
silence hush lull.

My sketch of Stanley Turrentine

Inspired by Stanley Turrentine playing, "But not for me".