Kind of Blue By Lynn Powell

Kind of Blue

BY LYNN POWELL

Not Delft or   

delphinium, not Wedgewood

among the knickknacks, not wide-eyed chicory   

evangelizing in the devil strip—

But way on down in the moonless   

octave below midnight, honey,

way down where you can't tell cerulean   

from teal.

Not Mason jars of moonshine, not   

waverings of silk, not the long-legged hunger   

of a heron or the peacock's   

iridescent id—

But Delilahs of darkness, darling,

and the muscle of the mind

giving in.

Not sullen snow slumped   

against the garden, not the first instinct of flame,   

not small, stoic ponds, or the cold derangement

of a jealous sea—

But bluer than the lips of Lazarus, baby,   

before Sweet Jesus himself could figure out

what else in the world to do but weep.

Explication:

This poem is an elegy describing the colour blue, but the title is an allusion to a famous Miles Davis Album entitled Kind of Blue. It all seems to drift away from the music theme except in the second line of the second stanza where it say "octave below midnight...".

Groovin' Low By A. B. Spellman

Groovin’ Low

By A. B. Spellman

my swing is more mellow

these days: not the hardbop drive

i used to roll but more of a cool

foxtrot. my eyes still close

when the rhythm locks; i’ve learned

to boogie with my feet on the floor

i’m still movin’, still groovin’

still fallin’ in love

i bop to the bass line now. the trap set

paradiddles ratamacues & flams

that used to spin me in place still set me

off, but i bop to the bass line now

i enter the tune from the bottom up

& let trumpet & sax wheel above me

so don’t look for me in the treble

don’t look for me in the fly

staccato splatter of the hot young horn

no, you’ll find me in the nuance

hanging out in inflection & slur

i’m the one executing the half-bent

dip in the slow slowdrag

with the smug little smile

& the really cool shades

Explication:

This is a free verse poem written by A. B. Spellman. It is about the evolution of jazz, and how styles have changed over the years. Different musical trends stick out during different era's, this poem acknowledges that.

String Bass by Adrian Green

Some like to dominate,
others caress
a voluptuous rhythm
on pliant strings.

This pulse drives life
through wanton counterpoint,
the heart and harmony
of things.

Explication:

This is a lyric poem, and the last line of each stanza rhyme. I chose it because I am a bass player and I thought it fit my theme well. It explains how the bass and how it plays a role in everyday life, without people even knowing so. It is really a metaphor for life, and each person's individuality.

The Jazz Trio

Sound of the hi-hat
Steady four-four walking bass
Sparse piano chords

-Stephen Edwards

Explication:
This is a haiku that tries to poetically capture the visual and aural aspects of a jazz piano trio.  I used a haiku to describe the jazz trio because a trio is very stripped down instrumentally, yet precise. The same with a haiku, only necessary words are used. It is a very stripped down form of poetry.

Explication of Sonnet 8 by William Shakespeare

This is one Shakespeare's earlier sonnets. It relates music to marriage and it is almost persuading youth to settle down, get married, and have children. The rhyme scheme is the typical ababcdcdefefgg, and it has 14 lines of iambic pentameter.

Sonnet 8: Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?

By William Shakespeare

Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?
Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.
Why lov'st thou that which thou receiv'st not gladly,
Or else receiv'st with pleasure thine annoy?
If the true concord of well-tunèd sounds,
By unions married, do offend thine ear,
They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.
Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering,
Resembling sire and child and happy mother,
Who, all in one, one pleasing note do sing;
Whose speechless song being many, seeming one,
Sings this to thee: "Thou single wilt prove none."