It started, as with much of my love of music,
With my Dad.
With him Swing was King
And the monarch was Benny Goodman.
This was my introduction
Of the world and wonder of Jazz.
From those early days I have listened
To many types of this music and loved them all.
The very early times of Bix and Jelly Roll
And of course ol’ Satchelmouth leading the way.
Though the thirties of the big bands
Basie, Ellington, Shaw and Miller;
Leading to the swing of the forties.
Then out of this came the sound that was bebop;
Bird and Dizzy in the lead, with this strange sound;
Alien noises to the establishment,
But became so wonderful to hear.
It changed the course of Jazz history.
The chromatic changes that weren’t thought possible,
Now becoming the sound, to which many flew.
Bebop mutated into so many varied type of Jazz.
It lead to the disaster that was ‘avant garde’.
A sound, to my mind, that just wasn’t music.
That Coltrane record I bought,
Put the needle anywhere on the disc,
The sound was just as bad.
I wonder if I could listen to it now,
With my more open minded view of music.
Cool Jazz given birth by Miles;
So harmonic, so soft, so mind-blowing.
This sound of mellow tones coming through my mind
And into my soul.
The beautiful sounds of Chet, Stan and Dave;
Pure melancholy, transporting me
To a world where all is calm and peaceful.
Trad, that sound that some decry,
But whenever it is played, all the feet tap.
Acker and Kenny leading the way
With this cheerful and foot tapping sound,
That can never fail to lift any depression
With its sound of unalloyed joy.
And then of course there was Oscar.
The man who can take me to places
That only exist in my dream of heaven.
This man who when he died
Took a piece of my life with him;
A man whose music was part of me,
And still is.
Jazz, the sounds that many can’t stand.
But to me, a world of such varying ways
Of contemplating the world of music ,
That has been with me all my life;
And is still there for me.
-
Author:
Goldfinch60 (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: August 29th, 2023 01:11
- Comment from author about the poem: I have my Dad to thank for my absolute love of Jazz. The track is from and album called "Canadiana Suite" and is the first Oscar Peterson album that I bought back in the 1960s. I have seen Oscar Peterson live, he was great.
- Category: Reflection
- Views: 8
- Users favorite of this poem: Doggerel Dave, Bella Shepard.
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Comments5
Thanks for your journey through Jazz, Andy. The sights (sorry - sounds) are enough to work as pure nostalgia as well as a beginners guide. Faved for future reference.
My absolute pleasure Dave, thank you .
Andy
A fine write Gold.
Stockhausen anyone?! lol.
THanks Orchi.
Here is some Stockhausen for you:
https://youtu.be/13D1YY_BvWU?si=cr9b3sL8B56-ITwu
Your love of music is infectious my friend, in all genres. But you truly shine in jazz. A beautiful piece of music, I understand your passion and thank you for sharing. You always make my day a little happier!
So kind Bella, I love both jazz and classical mainly but listen to almost all types of music, music has been in my life forever.
Andy
Evolution of Jazz eloquently detailed here!
JP
I wasn't quite there at the beginning but have listened to all types and have albums of all types of jazz. Thank you John.
Andy
My older brother is a jazz musician so I have heard it all my life. He plays the bass and even played in the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the 90's until early 2000's. I loved your poem! I will have to show it to him I am sure he will love it too. Thanks for sharing!
My absolute pleasure DP, I heard the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the 90's when they were in England and I was playing in a Swing Band, we were rehearsing on the Sunday afternoon the day after the concert and one of the GM Band came to hear us.
Andy
I wonder which one of the guys it was? It would have been funny if it was my brother or one of his friends that I knew lol. My brother and I are 22 years apart so I really was the baby sister to everyone. I wasn't around them a lot because they were always on the road except for holidays but the members/the manger that I did get to meet were the sweetest guys. Especially the manager Larry and his wife who were always trying to feed me food backstage on multiple occasions lol. This must have been fated that I would come across your poem and you happened to cross paths with someone I possibly know or even my brother all the way in another country. Life can be very surprising lol. What was the name of the swing band you performed in? I will ask my brother about it to see if he remembers.
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