Many Ruba’i – Jazz
52February 7, 2019 by petrujviljoen
piano, bass and drum, adrift, afloat;
a melody, spoken softly – chest notes –
the sax, unable to hold back, screamed. High
enough to wake the dead, the still poet
the cat, cool, dons his sunglasses, steps up
to the double bass, starts twanging Be-Bob.
Gillespie’s ghost hovers in the blue haze.
We listen, passing spliffs rolled from the cob*
*Called Malawi Gold, from that country, packed tightly, decoratively, in dried leaves of the mealie plant.
A note? A set? Which shut us up amid
laughter and chit-chat-blah so, God forbid,
we should miss the riff – sound, falling like light
on not only the ear, but the whole grid
jazz, most democratic of all music!
The solo, that impulsive runic,
plays out, picked up by another, plays out
taken up with sound – a different rubic
jazz, nothing but a schooled intuition
guessing – no, no grappling for an in.
The din of the drum rolls in rhythms
to the sonic soar of the violin
the drum scatters under the keening sax
honty tonk piano repeats the pax
with the bass guitar, sliding to nowhere
who talks of rescue? No paying no tax.
whisky, a double tot, in my coffee
wind and ganja in my hair – ain’t funny
seeing the dude, the man, sat me down,
expectin’ – but I left him. Me harpy
….
I was inspired by Jim Feeny’s jazz notes and hope I did the idea justice.
More rubaiyat for the form poetry month of the Persian form, the Ruba’i (singular) or Rubaiyat (plural). Mine’s a string of singular quatrains. I gave up on the iambic pentameter – one does when one does jazz – but hope for a sort of rhythm (and insight).
I’ll link to Dverse’s Open Link Night and to the form poetry’s site on invitation. Already have two up.
All that jazz. Runic and rubric. schooled intuition. Good. But so is other music. There’s the classical, written by one artist, played by another, lives apart. The singer/songwriter with her poems punctuated by sounds. These can be listened to anywhere. But jazz has a scene—you got that here—the good stuff brings that, the sights and tastes, the grit and grime, with it where ever it’s listened too.
It is rhythmic, jazzy even, and so full of energy. To be perfectly honest I hate jazz. I’d much rather read your poem about it than listen to the stuff 🙂
I’ll try and understand you hating jazz – we’re all different! Thanks for liking the poetry!
I won’t try and explain why I don’t like it, but it’s a similar reason to why I don’t like a lot of modern poetry.
I think I understand the comparison. I love classical music, favourites Bach, Rachmaninov, some Rock’nRoll, then The Blues/Jazz. How’s that for identity?
Back and Rachmaninov? That’s eclectic. Classical from Mozart to Elgar, Holst, Puccini, beginning of the twentieth century, some rock (no roll) some jazz composers like Jerome Kern and Gershwin, soul and Tamla. That’s about my limit. That interminable drum solo stuff in smoke filled dives is not my idea of fun.
Jazz is life – from this jazz lover – this just rolls and spills and bops! Love it!
Thanks Jilly.
Ah… Jazz – your verse is a good voice for this music.
Sometimes I like instrumentals, but some vocals are ‘cool’ too. 🙂
Yes, indeed.
Really liked “chest notes“. Perfect.
Straight from the Roget’s Thesaurus – but thanks anyway!
the energy in your rubaiyat is contagious!
I felt like I was back at the Village Gate in 1990! Excellent!
This indeed were those years for me too. As I wrote I was right back in it, but hanging from the ceiling.
😆
I can hear the scat in your meter. Gillespie’s ghost! This is fabulous, Petru – you’ve captured some improv spirit here.
Thanks!
Wonderful. I had a bit of trouble reading it due to having poor eyesight, but I am glad I took the time. It transported me back to playing bass in college with a couple of friends who liked to improvise blues music.
Thanks.
I love your string of singular quatrains!
From the lower case
to the slant rhymes, sax and double bass,
the cool cat with the shades,
Gillespie’s ghost hovering in the blue haze.
Pass me the Malawi gold spliff
and I’ll join in with this jazzy riff!
Laughing out loud!! Thanks a stack Kim.
Wonderful from start to finish. The rhythm is perfect for jazz too. (K)
Thanks!
Nice. I could see the smoke and feel the notes, pulsing.
This landed in spam at first! Thank you very much!
🙂 I watched several (but not all) comments disappear as I left them, yesterday.
Same here! Damn WordPress!
You must be a Jazz man! I liked your line, Jazz is the most democratic music… Everything in synch and blending together! Love the imagery!
Woman. I’m a jazz woman.
Oh oh…. my mistake!! So sorry! Yes you are!!
🙂
I like the sound of these two lines especially: “guessing – no, no grappling for an in.
The din of the drum rolls in rhythms” The “in” and “din” tie them together.
Thanks Frank!
I could hear the music as I read the poetry. Beautiful.
Thanks Susan.
I enjoyed the sharp phrases that carried the beat. The changes in the meter were perfect for the jazz theme. Nice!
Thanks. This was better received than I thought it would be!
you painted a scene here, a very cool scene, of a jazz jam session. love it!
Thanks. Hope to improve on it though.
I am not sure where I read it yesterday, but I saw a quote that said something to the effect, “Poems are never finished; we finally abandon them”. Seems about right 🙂
Ha-ha-ha!
Beautiful tribute. I loved all the descriptions.
Love the music-inspired rubaiyat. The sounds are rich – din, honky tonk, guitar.
This is lovely! ❤️ I love the way you have incorporated jazz in this poem 🙂
this is brilliant, Petru, reads like jazz and smells of ganja, booze and coffee…JIM
You need a composer to write the right tune for this
Thanks!
Felt like, I was standing in a jazz club of the 1950s or 1960s, with the gentle rhythm of your words beating against the skin of my soul.
Le Jazz hot–incredible piece. You blasted such cool at us that the form was invisible–and your subtle rhymes did not distract. The poetics are a hip set, complete with its contractions and expansions. That and the insights into jazz, performing and conjuring; remarkable.
I love the way you have putt the jazz in poem… such fun with all the music… sounds like a wonderful place to be.
Thanks.