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“Blues/Oscar” by Martel Chapman
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Oscar
I don’t want to stay woke
Oscar Peterson lulls me back to sleep
Sailing / swinging / meticulous
copacetic groove
Boogie woogie backbeat
I was born for this / ‘scuse me
while I kiss the keys / C Jam Blues
on a loop in my brain
Rhythmic displacement!
I’m dancing in my dreams
fluttery keys / interplanetary
mystery / cosmic therapy
Sweetly improvisational
I thought I spotted you, my brotha!
Are you from Canada? Can I go with ya
When I finally wipe this sleep out of my eyes?
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Listen to the 1963 recording of Oscar Peterson playing Duke Ellington’s composition “C Jam Blues,” with Ray Brown (bass) and Ed Thigpen (drums). [Universal Music Group]
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Connie Johnson is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer from Los Angeles, California whose poetry has appeared in several journals and anthologies. She turns to writers like Gwendolyn Brooks, Audre Lorde and Lucille Clifton when she needs a little inspiration. And she agrees with Clifton who said: “Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.”
Click here to read the Jerry Jazz Musician-published In a Place of Dreams: Connie Johnson’s album of jazz poetry, music, and life stories
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Martel Chapman found artistic inspiration in Francis Wolff’s cover photograph of John Coltrane’s Blue Train album, and has been creating art honoring the artistic geniuses of jazz music ever since.
Click here to visit his website
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Click for:
More poetry on Jerry Jazz Musician
“Bluesette,” Salvatore Difalco’s winning story in the 67th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest
More short fiction on Jerry Jazz Musician
Information about how to submit your poetry or short fiction
Subscribe to the (free) Jerry Jazz Musician quarterly newsletter
Helping to support the ongoing publication of Jerry Jazz Musician, and to keep it commercial-free (thank you!)
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