THE CRESCENT AND THE FULL MOON
(Une chante contre la destruction de Nouvelle Orleans et pour sa renaissance, 2005)
“…they tryin’ to wash us away.”– Randy Newman, LOUISIANA 1927.
The sun has set on the House of the Rising Sun.
The Crescent City, like a smile on the mouth of the Mississippi,
has been turned upside down, staring [...]
CHASIN’ THE TRANE (For J. C., 1926-67)
The Belgian Adolph Sax
invented his horn
in the century
railways invented a new speed
though at first both
were called the Devil’s Instrument–
women forbidden to ride or play
but in the century
of jazz triumphant
the sax picked up speed too
and Trane put
his rolling stock
on the jazz rails
purging his mind
through the slim reed–
shoveling notes
into the hot [...]
click on the image to enlarge.
Gary L. Brower
who holds a B.A. degree from Drury University in Spanish & History, M.A. & Ph.D. degrees in Romance Languages & Literatures from the University of Missouri at Columbia, has taught at Baker University (Ks.), Rogue Community College (Or.), University of Kansas, University of New Mexico, University of [...]
DJANGO
(For Django Reinhardt 1910-1953)
All roads of le jazz hot lead to this Roma,
raising the question of how many fingers
it takes to play guitar,
or eyes, as he couldn’t read music,
barely words, and not many
but he could strum the blood,
kickstart the heart, with
Grapelli’s see-saw on the strings,far from gypsy stereotypes
of a hundred weeping Hungarian violins,
instead putting you [...]
MAHALIA
(For Mahalia Jackson, 1911-1972)
Her voice wells up in the history of her skin
like acupuncture from inside out,
dramatizes in the theatre of her face,
spirals to the top of her hair piled up like a tower,
extends from fingertips of her outstretched hands,
builds a palace of sound like the biblical temple
of a prophet from the Land of [...]
