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.
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.
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.
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.
Let's go downtown
'cause I hear a sound so round
so outrageously profound
that it hits me as it gets me
pounds me as it crowns me
jolts me as it bolts me
all as it echoes to a mist.
We're the cats
that set the vibe
we're the club
that brings the hype
we're the family
that went to school
we're the tribe
that makes things cool
we're the mothers
who mess stuff up
we're the fathers
who don't give up.
Validation
It seems like a dictionary only term
one for the books
something done to get your name
on a plastic card
strapped to a chewed-up rope lanyard.
