It’s been a pleasure to see the differences and commonalities shared between the art of the poet, the skill of a jazz improviser, and a composer’s creativity.

Last night in Round Top, Texas, at the 16th Annual “Poetry at Round Top”, John Mills and I joined the nation’s most exciting and prominent poets for an evening of collaboration in art.

More and more, the kinship between poetry and music, especially jazz, has grown in understanding. In 2014 Harvard University appointed Herbie Hancock the Norton Professor of Poetry. Luminaries like Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot and Leonard Bernstein have held the honorary professorship. And for the last 3 years, jazz has been a new addition to the Poetry at Round Top annual festival.

So how do jazz and poetry talk to each other? In some ways, a poet and a composer both deal in perfection, working days, months, even years to create, revise, and perform a finished work. But in jazz, improvisation is at the center of the art form. Unlike the poet or the composer, the jazz improviser can’t go back and ‘get it right’. It has to be ‘right’ the first time. And it’s not written down. The one very deep commonality between all three art forms is it is a deeply personal thing. And all three share the importance of tradition in their art form. There is a component of rhythm that is a shared love between the three, too.

So want happens when poetry, composition, and jazz are asked to collaborate? The history goes back to the 40’s and 50’s American Beat poets like Jack Kerouac, for example. We viewed the music as a support and an intensifier to the poetry rather than the poetry’s being an addendum (or introduction) to the music.

jazz/poetry collaboration has a long tradition, going back (albeit patchily) some 70 years or so. There is no reason why these two forms, currently enjoying greater-than-usual popularity, should not combine more frequently.

Poetry and jazz speak to things deep in our human psyche: a love of patterned language and a love of the unpredictable, for a start.

I am sure John and I hope to do this again!

In the 1980’s, I played piano non-stop for corporations, grand openings,  and big  gala events.

Everybody wanted a live pianist in a tux, and I was glad to oblige. High-end homes sprang up in West Austin at that time, and Rob Roy was the newest premiere gated private neighborhood community. A fund raiser for the March of Dimes was held at 65 Pascal Lane, a gorgeous huge 4 million dollar home, that was purchased by a corporation to hold lavish parties. 

The night was pleasant… limos and evening gowns, good food, and pleasantries. Suddenly, all heads turned, and  in stepped Beverly Sills. I didn’t know until years later, that Beverly was the National Chair of the March of Dimes’ Mothers’ March on Birth Defects, and helped to raise over $80 millions during her tenure.

Everyone wanted to meet her, and the excitement was palatable. I was playing background jazz, and at these classy events I always play tunes with strong recognizability, like Gershwin, Harold Arlin, and Cole Porter. I  noticed that Beverly Sills kept looking at me while she was chatting with people. She kept staring at me and smiling. I only knew her as the great operatic diva, so I thought she must just like piano. She came over and started a conversation with me. She liked my playing, and I told her that I worked with many jazz singers. She told me that she loved jazz, and used to sing in clubs when she was younger. I asked her if she wanted to sing a tune, and she said, “Yea! Let’s do it!”. We decided on 3 Gershwin tunes, “Summertime”, “Someone To Watch Over Me”, and “Our Love Is Here To Stay“. Everyone at the event stopped their conversations, took seats informally around us, to watch and listen to this impromptu concert.

Beverly Sills never asked, and never told me what key to play. She just let me play the music, and she would sing. Do you know how remarkable that is? She could sing in any key, it didn’t matter.  Her voice was like silver, always so natural (and jazzy!), and she was the consummate professional. She was wonderful, and a delight to watch. She naturally commanded everyone’s attention with not only her voice, but with her smile and persona. She gave me space musically to improvise and take a solo on all the tunes, too. With just eye contact she knew to come in on the bridge, and we had fun making up tag endings. I found out later that she had done TV shows, appearing with Frank Sinatra, Carol Burnett, Danny Kaye, and Ann Margaret.

After our little concert, it was  we were like old friends. I have always felt that after you play music with someone, you know a lot about them. If I play music with you, I know your name, and I know you forever. This was a very special and unforgettable evening. When Beverly was ready to go, she made a point of coming by once more to say how much fun that was. And I got a little kiss, too!

Thanks for the great night playing with you, Beverly!!