All along

The snap crackle pop twist
of drum sticks and brushes
the hush hush howl
of the saxophone's sub-tone
the click clack
of the keys zooming across scales
and the boom bang
of the piano's crashing, vibrant stride

a tuning note hums across the stage
and the time is set in stone
with a coy smile the bandleader
steps in front and holds out a trumpet

soon the music is off and running
a wind whirls across the stage
as cool as winter lakes
while the breeze gusts and spins
a haunting melody
a chilling harmony
a beautiful rhythm

so haunting, familiarly unfamiliar
it is as if the sound wasn't improvised
but really there all along

The sound of nothing

hissing
rattling
phasing in and out
snap crackle snap clap!
honk screech clap!
the sun melts the snow

breathing
in and out
faint murmurs of hazy vowels
a broad register of cackles
children playing outside
snow angels etched in a coat of dust

the bend of branches
the pool of plowed snow
the fragile melting
drip drop drip drop!
snap pop drip drop drip!

birds cooing and chirping
squirrels shuffling up trees
as leaves rustle and bustle
acorns dropping plip plop!
in the woods creatures scurry
dash dish dash dish whoosh whish!

the sound of nothing
as in a perfectly humming movie
hardly to notice.

The same sun

I dodge around on edge
as if expecting to find you in
a tiny corner or crevice
hidden in the dark

You know, that secret part of you
in the shadows or as a ghost,
the part we don't show?

Lost in a maze, searching through faces,
bumping into others starry-eyed, lost, fixated

Each footstep hypnotizes me into
the rhythm of a heartbeat, I turn my head
to see if you are there, disappointed

I desire for you to appear

But what if that desire is selfish?

If I wished enough would it happen?

What would happen if it did?

I dream a little glimmer of the truth

My mind's eyes sometimes even
forgets what you look like

Am I searching for a feeling or a face?

Maybe the desire is right
within me:

Comfort, kindness, peace,
motivation, inspiration,
excitement, acceptance, warmth,
trust, beauty, adventure, wisdom?

Am I capable of the strength I found within you?

Am I worthy of these feelings alone?

Am I even searching or just stumbling?

Living vicariously
through what I found in you
I am left drained of perspective

I feel nutty, nervous, empty
yet thrilled by an essence

My life is forever changed

Peace is not exclusive

The light I found in you comes from
the same sun I bask in,
the same sun I was born to witness,

the same sun I hope to meet you under
when I uncover my self from the shadows first.

The thing about greed

The

the thing

the thing about

the thing about greed

the thing about greed is

the thing about greed is that

the thing about greed is that it doesn't

the thing about greed is that it doesn't share

the thing about greed is that it doesn't share or

the thing about greed is that it doesn't share or even

the thing about greed is that it doesn't share or even care.

There's no such thing as moderation

There's no such thing as moderation

what I love I love to my fullest

what I live for I live for my fullest

what I want I desire with all my heart

when I wake up I embrace the day with a smile, not an apathetic yawn

when I walk I take strides, not tiny footsteps as to be silent

when I smile I show all my teeth, not a half smile or grin

when I talk I exclaim, not muffle or garble words with gray eyes down to the ground

With moderation comes complacency

and to progress means to go full force
to do, to act, to be
to the fullest

as to bring change in its purest sense.

Simplicity

What calls out
of the storm
the lightning the thunder the clap
is hiss the rolls the crashes
what calls out of the cacophony
the endless notes
the phrases interrupted by time
the notes that don't mean anything
the ba da bee ops
the za zapedy ees
the da dee a be oo das
is the sense that we
as a unit
need to take a step back
and think simply
not just in music, art
but in life
because in simplicity is honesty
all art must be built on that which is true
even if it means going without
flourishes
bends
squeals
whinnies
hoos and hollers
what calls out of the storm
the lightning the thunder the clap
is hiss the rolls the crashes
is silence, is sunshine, is reality.

The world according to jazz

In its sound
I can find the profound

a bop a beep a boop
zee ba da lee-op
da ba da ba ee dod e la

it's a language
it's a code
it's a dialect

a bop a beep a boop
zee ba da lee-op
da ba da ba ee dod e la

it's a way of life
it's a lifestyle
it's a spirituality

a bop a beep a boop
zee ba da lee-op
da ba da ba ee dod e la

it's in me
it's in you
it's in us

a bop a beep a boop
zee ba da lee-op
da ba da ba ee dod e la

I can hear it
I can feel it
I am it.

Passion!

Passion!

Passion heals the world

I have seen so much medicine

so many corporations

so many products guaranteed 

to cure you

to heal you

to make you happier

to make you healthier

to release your problems

but, they don't work

there isn't a direct route out

of unhappiness

unhealthiness

but there's passion

there's a vision

there's determination

and with these tools

anything can happen

and you heal yourself as if in magic. 

I wake up each day

I wake up each day
with a mission

a mission to spread

music

music and art

music and art all around the world

music and art all around the world so that people can see
the impact of passion, of life, of beauty
a role model without greed.

Defining jazz

the march that makes my heart a dancer
the strut that makes me soul alive
the jump that propels me being forward
the hope that never dies.

Experience the culture

Jazz
is more than the surface of it all, you know

yeah,
there's the quartets, quintets, big bands
trumpets, saxophones, drum sets

there's the standards
from Broadway, TV, movies
the bop tunes
those great Wayne Shorter songs
we all hum down the street

there's the legends
Bird
Dizzy
Pops
Duke
Trane
Ella
Billie
Prez
Hawk
Count
Miles

there's the informal formalness
jam sessions
cutting contests
hangs galore

there's the soloing
the going in
the complete release of inhibition

there's the directness of it
channeling the true self
channeling a higher being
channeling God

there's the history of it
the blues aren't from a textbook
this music was made from blood
this music was made from people
that had no other way to make it
than to live through it

this stuff, this jazz we all talk so much about
is real
is raw
is authentic

this stuff, jazz,
isn't made in a school, a book, in a recipe
you can't just buy two eggs, some flour
and sugar and wait for it to come out of the oven
you can't just buy a book of magic spells
or take a potion and start playing lines

this stuff - jazz -
is made out there
in real time
with real people
in real places

and to anyone that labels it as a music...
I'd dare you to go out there, close your eyes, feel the vibes and
experience the culture.

I can always turn to scat

When I find I have nothing to say 
I can always turn to scat

Scoo-ba-dee-op
Za-zoo-ped-ee-wow
Da-dop-a-da-ee-op
Doo-waa.

New York jazz

I guess I hadn't really heard jazz
until I heard it in New York
I mean I have the records
I have the tapes
I know all the clubs in the area
I read the books, bios
I follow the news, magazines
but when you walk those concrete streets
clippity clop clippity clop
and you squeeze into those jam-packed clubs
Birdland
Blue Note
Jazz Standard
Village Vanguard
there's a legacy
there's an honor
there's a precedence
you get a picture no show can give you
life is hard
and in New York you hear it
be a bop a zippity zoop
a be a boo op a zee
za zee a la oo op
New York is where pastel turns to photography.

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.

Bebop

Bebop

Bebop
a sound that pops
a rhythm that give 'em
a sound so profound
a dance, a prance, a trance
smoking, joking, provoking
lines that zig zag
lines that spiral
lines that go up, down
but never lie around
it's forward it's fierce
energy energy energy
it's us - not the system -
who we really are
it's hard work it's social work
eat sleep and breathe
it's all so fast so lighting fast
it's over in a blink
with a bit of sass and a wink.

Starting today, Without a Poem will be published one time a week. 

Freedom

Freedom

Freedom
as I see in the sunrise
as I see in the sunset
is organic
is authentic
freedom
as I see in the waves
as I see in the clouds
as I see in the birds chirping
is natural.

Love

Love

Love it once
love it twice
but never more than thrice
move on my man
move on my friend
move on from love's advice.

Confirmation

Confirmation

The stars fell into
place the moon smiled back and
I sat contently.

I love music

I love music

I love music
what else is there to say?
I love art I love poetry
I love cocoa on a cold winter day
I love the blue sky
imagining shapes of the clouds
I love the rain
the cool dew amidst flowers
I love books
pretending I'm someone else
a pirate in the sea
a flapper at a party
I love family I love friends
I love people
how laughter erupts in conversation
energy that never ends
I love music
what else is there to say?
the sentence could stop at I love.

Passion

Passion

Let's go back to when
love and passion steered us in
the right direction.