Don't Miss David Meltzer, Michael Rothenberg & Spider Trio at Hideout, Nov. 19

Long-time west coast denizen David Meltzer will be traveling to Chicago with Michael Rothenberg for a show I coordinated with the Hideout here in Chicago. The Hideout is one of my favorite music locales and the perfect home for this word and jazz salad that promises to be high on the excitement scale. Dan McNaughton's Spider Trio will perform as well as Bob Malone and Dan Godston's band. Don't miss it. Meltzer, who is a poet, editor, and musician, has edited many an anthology including "Reading Jazz," which features contributions by Robert Creeley, Igor Stravinsky, William Carlos Williams, Norman Mailer, Mina Loy and many other luminaries.


Thursday, Nov. 19

Rockpile (David Meltzer, Michael Rothenberg & Spider Trio) with special guests including Terri Carrion, Art Lange, Dan Godston, Francesco Levato, Larry Sawyer, Ed Roberson & Bob Malone.


@ The Hideout
1354 W. Wabansia, Chicago
8:00 to 11:30 pm
Phone: 773.227.4433

The Poetry Center of Chicago & Milk Magazine present:


ROCKPILE (featuring David Meltzer, Michael Rothenberg, Terri Carrion & Spider Trio)

A leading poet of the Beat Movement, David MELTZER was raised in Brooklyn during the War years; performed on radio & early TV on the Horn & Hardart Children's Hour. Was exiled to L.A. at 16 & at 17 enrolled in an ongoing academy w/ artists Wallace Berman, George Herms, Robert Alexander, Cameron; migrated to San Francisco in 1957 for higher education w/ peers & maestros like Jack Spicer, Robert Duncan, Joanne Kyger, Diane DiPrima, Michael McClure, Lew Welch, Philip Whalen, Jack Hirschman, and a cast of thousands all living extraordinary ordinary lives. Beat Thing [La Alameda Press, 2004] won the Josephine Miles PEN Award, 2005. Was editor and interviewer for San Francisco Beat: Talking With The Poets [City Lights, 2001]. With Steve Dickison, co-edits Shuffle Boil, a magazine devoted to music in all its appearances & disappearances. 2005 saw the publication of David's Copy: The Selected Poems of David Meltzer by Viking/Penguin, a collection spanning over forty years of work that paints a vivid portrait of Meltzer's life as a poet through poems taken from thirty of his previous books of poetry. With a versatile style and playful tone, Meltzer offers his unique vision of civilization with a range of juxtapositions from Jewish mysticism and everyday life to jazz and pop culture.

Michael ROTHENBERG is a poet, songwriter, and the editor of Big Bridge magazine online at www.bigbridge.org. His poetry books include Man/Woman, a collaboration with Joanne Kyger, The Paris Journals (Fish Drum Press), Monk Daddy (Blue Press), and Unhurried Vision (La Alameda/University of New Mexico Press). His poems have been published widely in small press publications including, 88: A Journal of Contemporary American Poetry, Berkeley Poetry Review, Exquisite Corpse, First Intensity, Fish Drum, Fulcrum, Golden Handcuffs Review, House Organ, Prague Literary Review, Tricycle, Van Gogh's Ear, Vanitas, Zyzzyva, JACK, milk, and Jacket. He is also author of the novel Punk Rockwell. Rothenberg's 2005 CD collaboration with singer Elya Finn, was praised by poet David Meltzer as "fabulous-all [the] songs sound like Weimar Lenya & postwar Nico, lushly affirmative at the same time being edged w/ cosmic weltschmertz. An immensely tasty production." He is also editor for the Penguin Poet series, which includes selected works of Philip Whalen, Joanne Kyger, David Meltzer, and Ed Dorn. He has recently completed the Collected Poems of Philip Whalen for Wesleyan University Press.

Terri CARRION was conceived in Venezuela and born in New York to a Galician mother and Cuban father. She grew up in Los Angeles where she spent her youth skateboarding and slam-dancing. Terri Carrion earned her MFA at Florida International University in Miami, where she taught Freshman English and Creative Writing, edited and designed the graduate literary magazine Gulfstream, taught poetry to High School docents at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami and started a reading series at the local Luna Star Café. In her final semester at FIU, she was Program Director for the Study Abroad Program, Creative Writing in Dublin, Ireland. Her poetry, fiction, non-fiction and photography has been published in many print magazines as well as online, including The Cream City Review, Hanging Loose, Pearl, Penumbra, Exquisite Corpse, Mangrove, Kick Ass Review, Exquisite Corpse, Jack, Mipoesia, Dead Drunk Dublin, and Physik Garden among others. Her collaborative poem with Michael Rothenberg, "Cartographic Anomaly" was published in the anthology, Saints of Hysteria, A Half-Century of Collaborative American Poetry and her chapbook "Lazy Tongue" was published by D Press in the summer of 2007. Currently, she is collaborating on the translation of a Galician Anthology from Galician to Spanish to English, to appear in all three languages, in February of 2009, on BigBridge.org, for which she is assistant editor and art designer.


About SPIDER TRIO: Earle Brown, tenor saxophone; Joe Williams, drums; Dan McNaughton, bass and leader. Dan formed Spider Trio in 1997 in New Orleans, in order to perform his jazz compositions which express his love for a wide range of music, from funk to modern classical. The band is now based in Chicago, and the current lineup consists of Dan, Bryan Pardo on reeds, and Tim Keenan on drums. Another recent project of Dan's is the modern klezmer band Into The Freylakh, led by Bryan, whose self-titled first cd is also available through CD Baby. Into The Freylakh's repertoire ranges from traditional songs to original compositions, among them Dan's "Lenox Road." The second SPIDER TRIO cd, Presences, with Bryan and Tim, is out and for sale at CD Baby .


WITH GUESTS INCLUDING: Art Lange, Dan Godston, Larry Sawyer, Francesco Levato, Bob Malone, & Ed Roberson

Born in Chicago in 1952, Art LANGE is the author of hundreds of essays, reviews, articles, and interviews on music and poetry. His work has been published in publications as diverse as the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik and the Village Voice, New American Writing and the Partisan Review, and he has written program notes for over 200 jazz and classical recordings. He also published and edited Brilliant Corners: a magazine of the arts, from 1975-77. He is the co-editor (with Nathaniel Mackey) of Moment's Notice: Jazz in Poetry and Prose (1993: Coffee House Press), and is the author of five books of poetry, including Needles at Midnight (Z Press), Evidence (Yellow Press), and The Monk Poems (Frontward Books). Lange was editor of Down Beat magazine from 1984-88 and currently he teaches at Columbia College, Chicago.

Dan GODSTON teaches poetry and other art forms to young people and adults in the Chicago area. His poetry and fiction have appeared in Chase Park, Versal, 580 Split, Kyoto Journal, California Quarterly, after hours, Edgz, Kyunghyang Shinmun, and other publications, while his articles have appeared in Teaching Artist Journal, among other publications. Godston also co-curates the interdisciplinary arts series, Chicago Calling.

Larry SAWYER curates the Myopic Books Poetry Series in Wicker Park, Chicago. His chapbook Tyrannosaurus Ant (mother's milk press) was recently included in the Yale Collection of American Literature. His blog is Me tronome. His work was also recently included in A Writers’ Congress: Chicago Poets on Barack Obama’s Inauguration (anthology, DePaul Humanities Center Press, 2009). Larry also edits milkmag.org (since 1998). His publications include the Chicago Tribune, Babel Fruit, Vanitas, Jacket, MiPoesias, The Prague Literary Review, Coconut, 88, Hunger, Skanky Possum, Exquisite Corpse, Court Green, Shampoo, Van Gogh's Ear, and elsewhere.

Poet, translator, and new media artist Francesco LEVATO is the executive director of The Poetry Center of Chicago and the author of Marginal State (Fractal Edge Press, 2006) and is a contributor to Witness: Anthology of Poetry (Serengeti Press, 2004). His poetry has been published internationally in journals and anthologies, both in print and online, including The Progressive, XCP: Cross Cultural Poetics, Versal, and many others. His awards include two consecutive poetry fellowships at the Vermont Studio Center. His poetry-based video artwork has been exhibited in galleries and featured at film festivals in Berlin, Chicago, New York, and elsewhere.

Bob MALONE grew up in the wilds of New Jersey, where he started piano lessons at nine – within a year he could play anything put in front of him – and dreamed of being a classical musician. For years he listened only to classical music, but hearing Billy Joel in a Sears store was a revelation for him, and within a few years he was writing his own songs, and playing with rock bands. He studied music at Berklee in Boston (though he was already gigging regularly both solo and with bands, as he has ever since), after which he moved to Hollywood and embarked on an endless tour, playing an average of 100 shows a year. “Blazing and beautiful. Burning and elegant. Subtle and expansive. Unique and timeless. Malone contains multitudes of rhythm, soul, jazz, blues, smoke and magic.” — American Songwriter Magazine. For more information see BobMalone.com.

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Ed ROBERSON studied painting in his youth and was educated at the University of Pittsburgh. His extensive travels inform his work,which is also influenced by spirituals and the blues, and by visual art, such as the mixed-media collages of Romare Beardon. Poet and critic Michael Palmer has called Roberson “one of the most deeply innovative and critically acute voices of our time.” Roberson is the author of numerous books of poetry, including City Eclogue (2006), Atmosphere Conditions (1999), which was chosen by Nathaniel Mackey for the National Poetry Series and was a finalist for the Academy of American Poets’ Lenore Marshall Award, and Voices Cast Out to Talk Us In (1995), which won the Iowa Poetry Prize. Words and phrases in Roberson’s experimental poetry actively resist parsing, using instead what Mackey has called “double-jointed syntax” to explore and bend themes of race, history, and culture. “I’m not creating a new language. I’m just trying to un-White-Out the one we’ve got,” said Roberson in a 2006 interview with Chicago Postmodern Poetry. Roberson’s honors include the Lila Wallace Writers’ Award and the Poetry Society of America’s Shelley Award. His work has been included in Best American Poetry. Roberson lives in Chicago, where he has taught at the University of Chicago, Columbia College and Northwestern University.

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ROCKPILE @ HIDEOUT: A CELEBRATION OF THE TRADITION OF POETRY & JAZZ IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO. FROM THE FIRST STORIES OF KENNETH REXROTH READING HIS WORK WITH MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT BY JELLY ROLL MORTON, JAZZ & POETRY HAVE ENJOYED A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP. THIS NIGHT OF POETRY & JAZZ WITH DAVID MELTZER, MICHAEL ROTHENBERG, SPIDER TRIO & SPECIAL GUESTS WILL CERTAINLY BE A NIGHT TO REMEMBER. HIDEOUT INCLUDES A FULL BAR AND HEMP CANDY BARS WILL SERVED. DOORS OPEN AT 7:30. $8 COVER.

FOR THE FULL SCHEDULE CHECK Hideoutchicago.com .

Do I ever get tired of watching old jazz clips? A final ruling on this is expected this summer.

Artistry

Art Pepper's D Section (recorded just after he was released from San Quentin in 1964) shows that at this time in his career Art was strictly business. I love how his solos are never muddy or superfluous and always build in intensity--nothing is extraneous and it all serves the larger purpose of the tune. That's artistry.

Thanks to YouTube once again for another nice clip I'd never noticed until this morning--Happy Holidays.

Art Lange on Anthony Braxton.

William Claxton, RIP

(Jazz) photographer William Claxton has died.

Fake Authenticity

...Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?

...What’ve you got?

—Marlon Brando, The Wild One (1958)

“In a period when the youthful innovations of rock and roll were in the ascendant, it is fascinating to observe the continuing popularity of jazz on both the large and small screens, belying any comfortably linear history of popular music that regards the advent of rock and roll as a decisive historical break, in which jazz is finally and categorically displaced from the category of ‘popular’ at a point in the mid-1950s—a perspective fuelled by movies such as The Blackboard Jungle (1955) which featured Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” on its soundtrack and, in a telling transitional ‘moment,’ presented the smashing of a teacher’s prized jazz record collection by leather-jacketed punks as the ultimate act of rock and roll rebellion.”
___________

Alan Stanbridge of University of Toronto raises some interesting points in his essay and made me think of the intersection of jazz music and its successor in pop culture ... rock 'n roll.

Stanbridge's provocative spiel had me thinking about English blues singer Amy Winehouse, for some reason, and the fascination we as a society seem to have with rebellion. Does the fascination with blues singer Winehouse’s public descent into addiction represent the unconscious fetishization of an archetypal period in jazz history? The rock ‘n roll youth of the 1950s couldn’t identify with jazz as the more cerebral side of the latter became much more evident. These days the somewhat talented, who also represent anti-authoritarian currents in our society, are raised to absurd levels of notoriety because the sheer inertia of these societal trends is unstoppable. Singers like Winehouse (or in a bygone day musicians like Keith Richards) represent a genuinely dark side of mainstream music—an easily consumed brand of rebellion. Rebellion is easy to understand. Everyone can relate to frustration. Everyone wants acceptance and attention. (After Miles Davis had capitalized on Cool Jazz, he nearly single-handedly invented another new genre, Fusion, after snuggling up to the playing of Jimi Hendrix. On a certain level, Davis craved acceptance, and his move toward a more loose and funky sound, after the tight experiments of the album Bitches Brew, was designed to appeal to the masses, not to critics and intellectuals. Davis craved a little understanding, because he won over the critics years previous and winning over the people marked a challenge for him and his work.) The lure of acceptance by the masses is sometimes too strong to be ignored and otherwise innovative artists become self-imitators as a result. Winehouse doesn't seem to be imitating herself just yet, but she's making a career of mediocrity. Think about Billie Holiday (1915-1959).

Billie Holiday's art wasn't considered esoteric in the time when she was alive, because jazz was extremely visible in the 1940s and 1950s. That's not to say it was socially acceptable.

The spotlight always shines brightest on works that define the next wave of artistic innovation. Works firmly entrenched in a pre-existing and long-standing order, although displaying technical or conceptual virtuosity, often receive far less press than the works that mark the cusp of two genres. Amy Winehouse can sing, but she ain’t no Billie Holiday and she may never be. Unresolved social issues that are in constant need of exploration aren’t being addressed by most contemporary pop artists. Winehouse is “outside” the mainstream because of her lifestyle, so she could delve into particularly difficult subject matter unscathed if she so chooses. Winehouse acts like a derelict, which gets her a lot of attention, but she sells out her own talent by not taking it farther. The content is lacking, because ultimately she’s only interested in herself and her consumption. Compare her work and its “message” to seminal tunes like Strange Fruit as sung by Holiday. After the monumental message of the song’s lyrics (written by Abel Meeropol) hits home for the first time it’s indelible. Artists like Winehouse revel in their addictions, which is sad but telling. The irony is that our consumerist tendencies value an authentic fake nearly as much as the original: at least in the short term.

Using addiction as a marketing tool for music is what Winehouse’s tabloid nonsense really advertises. Whether she’s aware of that is another matter, but the main ingredients missing, despite her solid voice, are grace and compassion. Holiday leapt the crushing hurdles of racism and addiction and achieved the highest levels of musicianship while Winehouse gleefully wallows in a cliché.

Wayne Shorter in a vintage clip laying down some jazz goodness.

It's a little strange to see this Sonny Rollins footage mainly because he's stuck on a variety show attempting to play the crowd pleaser, but rather reluctantly. The other thing that seemed to draw my attention was the difference between Rollins with his crisp delivery and the somewhat slack soloing by Don Cherry, an otherwise brilliant improviser. These two paired offer a glimpse at the subtle chasm that existed between those who became more known as free players and those who relied more on harmonic structure and were more a part of the previous well-established tradition--bebop.

Klactoveesedstene

My friend, the poet Steve Halle, asked me via e-mail the other day about Ornette Coleman’s album “Sound Grammar,” and I remember hearing bits and pieces of it online a while ago. It’s a great album, but I found myself really thinking about it again because of Steve’s comment, so I dug around online a bit and stumbled upon this Slate article that raises an even larger question. I really like this article (sure it’s a little dusty but who cares) because of its embedded links. Putting these two riffs side by side is genius (one of Charlie Parker laying down a long solo in the song “Klactoveesedstene” and Ornette Coleman playing nearly the same but in his unique way). [Here’s an interesting side note found on a Portuguese jazz blog about theories as to what “Klactoveesedstene” might mean.]

Listening to both shows how different Ornette’s sound is, even in 1958. Not being a musician I can’t define it in musical terms, but I’ve always thought that Ornette’s solos seem to spread out instead of building. Ornette uses sound in a really nonlinear way, and not to just fill space in a song. His solos don’t rise to crescendo or logically unfold, they burst forth in rivulets—fits and starts. It’s obvious that the journey itself is the destination. One reason that Ornette doesn’t often play with pianists in his combos could be that the piano, as defined in those rough terms, is limiting to a certain extent. There are spaces between the keys on a piano whereas the saxophone is a much more liquid instrument. Even so, Ornette paired with a player like Thelonious Monk would seem to make sense, but Monk’s playing was also much more angular and structured, though in an offbeat way.

I'd never seen the above photo of Charlie Parker before, so I thought I'd post it.

In other news, Stop Smiling has put out a relatively recent, jazz-theme issue and I've just found out that the headliners at the 2008 Chicago Jazz Festival are Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman. Thank you, Chicago!