When you go to a jazz concert

When you go to a jazz concert
you never know what to expect

first it's the anticipation, the drive there
humming in your head, humming aloud
tapping against the steering wheel
a be a bop a be a bop

then you get there, park, walk in the club
and it's cool it's dim it's crowded
chitter chatter chitter chatter
you get your seat, order a drink
maybe introduce yourself to others
maybe just lay low
look in awe at the stage
the lights shining down, the music in stacks,
the instruments on stands
you feel that something
great
is going to happen

then the lights get dimmer, clapping erupts
they're on! the show is starting!
and with a strut, a swag, a fierceness
a sense of self, these musicians pour onto the stage

and with a bang, the first note
pop!
and with fire they're off
be bop a zee a doop da dee!
a bap a la dee oh!
za be a la boo a la be op!

the sounds go up and down and around
and forwards and backwards
spiraling, curling, dancing, zig zagging
a meditation of dance

you hear blue, purple, green yellow - a painting
you hear a biography, a narrative, a joke - a book
you hear bricks, iron, steel - a building holding you up

you hear sadness, pain, melancholy
you hear joy, celebration, excitement
you hear love, loss, resilience
all emotions, all human, all real

and the thing is these songs go beyond sound,
beyond here, beyond now
they take you inward
they send you outward
until they become intrinsically you

so when you leave it's as if you never left
the blur of excitement, the rush of rebirth
you drive in a haze, you ponder in a dream
the sounds of bebop echoing each step
be bop be bop be bop

when you go to a jazz concert
you never know what to expect.