Jazz and Poetry

By Nay Torious The Educator

Jazz and poetry it’s something alike
I never know what I’m going to write
But I’m a jazz head from a kid you see
Listening to jazz since at least sixty three
Ella Fitzgerald was hitting those notes
So much beautiful music came from her throat
Lady Day crooning of lost love and strange fruit
In sartorial splendor the Duke could be found in a snappy suit
And dizz all dizzy creating his legacy, Manteca sprinting from the speakers
Jazz got us high before crack heads and tweakers and two hundred dollar sneakers
That I never buy
Don’t ask me why cause I will tell know lies about the burdens played from a saxophone
And Betty Carter and Nina Simone spilling their guts into the microphone
Have you heard of the watts poet’s brothers from watts telling the truth on society and the cops
Tupac told the same truths was a poet so let’s give him props
Maya Angalou rising still when I hear her, I can feel the honesty that can’t hide in her words

And Jazz the way she talks like a dash to the end zone by Marshall Falk
And when she scores she strikes a vein Ellington and Strahorn on the A train
Mingus keeping crazy base plus Herbie and Shorter in a Giant steps race
The prolific Miles with progressing styles blowing the sketches of Spain
And the soprano sax and the classic track my favorite things by Trane
Elvin Jones and Philly Joe, Max Roach, Billy Higgins a couple mo
It was often Count Bassie stealing the show
Keeping the beat while keeping the time these are a few of the great drummers of my time
Colman Hawkins playing the sax Dexter Gordon had it like that
They hated on Miles for turning his back
Flipping the script of the pain from the song
All of these Giants practicing all night long
And when they hit the stage they where ready to rumble
And if they stumbled nobody knew because jazz is suppose to be impromptu
Delightful temptations and infectious at least
Jazz and poetry together a beast
Jazz and Poetry embrace the history