Barbara Hamby: Thus Spake the Mockingbird
The mockingbird says, hallelujah, coreopsis, I make the day
bright, I wake the night-blooming jasmine. I am
the duodecimo of desperate love
Kristofer Collins: Jack Teagarden Buries Louis Armstrong’s Oriental Strut, Mesa, NM, ca.1926
lifting the tarnished curve of his horn to papery lips, Jack
Teagarden somewhere in 1947, his heart piled up with booze
and debt, but still a suppleness to his mouth, a flash
of something dangerous in the hard set of his jaw
Video: Truth | Kamasi Washington
Directed by AG Rojas, the music video features a series of scenes that appear to have one foot rooted in everyday life, and another reaching for something beyond it.
Vimeo: Viktor on the Moon
Viktor Leth, who has never been on a date, accidentally sits down at the wrong table with the slightly older and married Rebekka. This is the start of a weird and wild night for the two of them in which Viktor learns more about life and love than most people do in a lifetime
Audio: Gil Scott-Heron | Pieces of a Man
I saw my daddy greet the mailman
And I heard the mailman say
“now don’t you take this letter to heart now Jimmy
Cause they’ve laid off nine others today”
Majid Naficy: Billie Holiday
I walk gently on the skin of the sea.
A wandering wind wraps around our bodies
And an albatross opens its wings on our shoulders.
Neil Shepard: That Sad Clapping
applause that crushes the way the singer comes back
into the song
Michael Simms: Blue Notes
I think of Fats Waller whose left hand leaped down the keys, showing the path for every jazz pianist who followed, including the great Art Tatum and the minor Billy Joel.
Audio: Art Tatum | Tiger Rag
“I only play the piano, but tonight God is in the house” — Fats Waller, on Art Tatum
Video: Club des Belugas | Straight to Memphis| Brenda Boykin
In this wildly original montage, Club Des Belugas pays tribute to African American entertainers in mid-century Hollywood.
Alexis Rhone Fancher: Listening to Bill Evans Play Stella By Starlight
. “I listen to Stella by Starlight and shiver deep in a nameless place.” – Gary Lemons Side tracked, hijacked, The words unnecessary, but Each syncopated Lyric, each … Continue reading
Video: That’s my jazz
Milt Abel II, a world renowned pastry chef, reflects on his relationship with his late father Milton Abel Sr., a legendary Kansas City jazz musician.
Audio: Gil Scott-Heron | Home Is Where the Hatred Is
Home is where the needle marks
Try to heal my broken heart
Video: Oscar Peterson | Hymn To Freedom
Live in Denmark, 1964. Oscar Peterson on Piano. Ray Brown on Bass. Ed Thigpen on Drums.
Vox Populi 