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photo by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
Dizzy Gillespie leading his orchestra, c. 1946 – 1948
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Where the Bee Sucks (or Blows)
The conductor passed the notes around — birds strung out on wires —
Pieces they all knew well, nothing too inspired.
He checked his troops, baton raised, then marched them down the street.
Was it a groove, or was it a rut, that curbed those marching feet?
Trumpets parped and trombones barked, tubas growled, cornets laughed,
Flutes and piccolos waltzed together, glockenspiels flashed with sunny weather.
Each player strove to make it gel
But, somehow, it didn’t flow … until
A lonesome bee led them astray.
“Squash THAT *** bee FLAT,” Baton Man wailed.
And cymbals clashed like the jaws of ’gators,
Jolting the band into syncopation.
The bee buzzed free, zagging and zigging,
Enjoying the zounds now bestirring.
Baton Man waved his arms in frenzy,
Locking horns in vying cadenzas.
True bee-lievers, they swung with gusto,
Stoking the beat as hot as mustard.
They broke formation, prancing, dancing,
Drummers performing rim-shot glances.
Trumpets chuckled, trombones jawed,
All in a frenzied smorgasbord.
The beat crept ever faster,
Disquieting Herr Bandmaster.
“Thirds and sevenths,” the bee whizz-purred,
As listeners reeled through a soundscape blizzard.
Baton Man was losing control.
“Bop that bee!” he adjured them all.
“Never! Long may that bee BOP!” they replied.
“Long may that crazy bee … BE!” they opined.
“And blarp de shoo-wop-bop,” said the trombone slide.
No longer tied to telephone wires,
The musical birds soared higher.
With dextrous swoops they touched, they coupled:
Gliss. and stacc., new sounds inspired.
Talk turned to the Birds and Bees
As young things headed for the trees.
Trumbones moaned, trompets bragged,
Listeners looned to loose-hipped rags.
Drummers tattooed their own hides blue
(While Baton Man took his baton home).
And then …
Down side-streets, splinter groups ..p
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E x p l o r I N G
R/h/y/t/h/m/s
Rhythm-A-Ning.
Chasin’ the B I R D(s and BEES),
Turning toons downside up, inside out.
And never again the band was the same!
They called it a “Jam”, they called it a “Buzz,”
And soonest later, the mashup said “Jazz.”
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Listen to David Rudd read his poem
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Dr. David Rudd is an emeritus professor of literature who wrote academic prose for 40 years before letting his imagination run free. His first collection of short stories – Blood Will Out, and Other Strange Tales – is now out and available from Amazon and good bookshops.
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Listen to the 1944 recording of tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins playing Dizzy Gillespie’s 1942 composition “Woody ‘n You” (which was an homage to Woody Herman). This recording came from one of the first formal bebop sessions, and included Gillespie (trumpet); Clyde Hart (piano); Oscar Pettiford (bass); and Max Roach (drums). [The Orchard]
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Click here to read The Sunday Poem
Click here to read “A Collection of Jazz Poetry – Spring/Summer, 2024 Edition”
Click here to read “Not From Around Here,” Jeff Dingler’s winning story in the 66th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest
Click here for information about how to submit your poetry or short fiction
Click here to subscribe to the (free) Jerry Jazz Musician quarterly newsletter
Click here to help support the ongoing publication of Jerry Jazz Musician, and to keep it commercial-free (thank you!)
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Jerry Jazz Musician…human produced (and AI-free) since 1999
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