Jazz Appreciation Month

Jazzers

Move to their 

own beat, but

keep the melody.

Improvise, and

work in harmony.

Sing the blues, yet

make it through.

Jump sometimes,

Bop in long lines, or

merge in fusion.

Never stop swingin’.

April is Jazz Appreciation Month. This initiative has been spear-headed by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Go to www.smithsonianjazz.org for a history of the initiative and information regarding this year's celebration.

In perusing the Smithsonian's site, I realized that there are three L's that can help us participate in this month-Learn, Listen and Local.

1. Learn more about the art form. This includes the history and contemporary jazz. Read a book or do research online.  The Smithsonian Jazz Site has oral histories of NEA Jazz Masters. You may listen or read a transcript. The site also has the "Today in Jazz History" calendar, which gives you a day-by-day accounting of some of the music's most important events.
2. Listen to the music. After all, that is really what the art form is about. Settle in with some old favorites or use your research to explore some new artists. 
3. Support your local musicians, clubs and radio stations. If there is a museum or musicians birthplace in your area support that, too. Art inspires other art so there may be jazz poets or visual artists who incorporate jazz influences in their work. Give them a look or listen, too.

Most importantly, continue to enjoy and celebrate the music all year long.

Related links

Jazz: NPR 

International Jazz Day

Jazz April 2014

American Jazz Museum

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Tournament Time

Tournament Time

The ball travels

 from hand to floor

        hand to floor

         hand to floor.

The rhythm as steady

as the clock ticking down.

Suddenly, the thumping stops.

The player takes the shot.

Will it be a swish?

Kiss the backboard and drop in?

Clang! It ricochets off the rim.

Game over.

Another team gets bounced.

Thanks to Carol Early Cooney for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Bounce.  What's your response to bounce? Put a link to it in the comments on the prompt post.

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The First Day of Spring

The First Day of Spring

It’s the first day of spring.

Daylight and darkness are equal,

but, for me, it’s the longest

day of the year.

Humans get so excited

when they see me.

I wish I knew who

started that myth

about seeing the

first robin of spring.

Besides, I don’t control

the weather.

Late snows aren’t a 

picnic for me either.

Flying in that stuff is brutal.

No one de-ices me and

I don’t have windshield wipers.

I get tired of eating frozen food

and don’t get me started on

shoveling out the nest.

Well, it’s only 24 hours.

Then, I can go back

to being just another

one of the birds.

This poem was written in response to this week's prompt on Poetic Asides.

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Tired

I saw this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Tired, which was provided by Rebecca Barray, when it was posted last Thursday. It just so happened that I was attending an event at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art that evening. I took my camera along in case I had time to go to the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park after the presentation was finished.

When I got to the park, daylight was waning, but the moon was bright. The downward curve of so many branches in this tree gave me the sense that they were tired at the end of another windy day. I hope they had a restful night.

What do you think of when you hear the word tired? Let us know by commenting on the blog post for this prompt.

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Blue Notes

Blue Notes

Blue notes are soft and low.

I am drawn to the sound.

Reminds me of the pain

wrapped 'round me like a chain.

I inhale the music,

hold it in my lungs then

exhale real slow.

Reluctant to let go.

Blue notes fill the air.

They aren't going anywhere.

So, I let them embrace me

like arms I cannot see.

Anticipation

I think most of us experience anticipation related to certain foods or meals. Certainly children look forward to Halloween candy or birthday cake, especially their own. In Kansas City, I look forward to going out for barbecue. When I visit my hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., I can't wait to have chicken wings or beef on 'weck.

During my childhood, especially, I looked forward to the time when my Mother would start baking Christmas cookies. When I was very young, I helped by taste-testing the fruits and nuts that would be used in the various recipes. I also tested the dough because we didn't know then that you shouldn't eat it before it is baked. Of course, the best part was just spending time with my Mom or my Mom and my sister.

I still make two of the cookies at Christmas. I don't feel the same anticipation now that I bake them myself. However, I know that the people I share them with look forward to getting them each year. For that, I am very grateful.

Are there any foods that you always look forward to having?

Thanks to Dana Dampier for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt.

Related Posts:

Buffalo Cuisine

The Mountains of Christmas

The Reluctant Baker

In the Shadows

In the Shadows

I feel the shadows

hang over me.

The absence of warmth

caused by the shade.

The weight of the past

that I carry with me

always but feel more

at times like these.

The knowledge of

what is lost and

what will never be.

Still, if I squint hard

enough, I  see the form

that reminds me to 

listen for the music,

even in the darkness.

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Sometimes a Photo Bomb May Be a Windfall

I was out on a morning walk and noticed the moon. I like to photograph the moon "sitting" on different things, like roofs or trees branches. This time, I wanted the moon to look like it was doing a high-wire act. When I downloaded the pictures, I saw that I had gotten photo bombed by a bird. Instead of ruining the shot, the bird enhanced it. That is a photographer's windfall.

Thank's to Kasie Whitener for this week's Wordsmith Studio Creative Prompt-Windfall. Tell us about your windfalls in the comments on the blog post.

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