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.
