Y USEF K OMUNYAKAA Jazz & Poetry

K OMUNYAKAA ’ S EARLY YEARS Born in Bogalusa in 1947 Grew up during the Civil Rights era Hardly any books in his childhood house Graduated from Bogalusa High School In 1965, enlisted in the Army to fight in the Vietnam War After coming back to Louisiana, in 1981 he completed Copacetic, which explores race, place, music

He discovered that jazz music was being used both as a forum in which to express racial iniquity and as a catharsis to heal the wounds which resulted from hatred and bigotry.

J AZZ AND B LUES New Orleans – Jazz Bogalusa –Blues Jazz originally came from New Orleans whereas blues originated from Mississippi. Jazz enjoyed nationwide penetration in America compared to the pocketed popularity of blues music during their early heydays. Jazz has more syncopation than blues making it a more complicated music style. Blues was ordinarily a more vocal form of music unlike the more instrumental jazz music.

J AZZ Harmonic progressions Improvisation Swing feel Instrumentation: a rhythm section (drum set, bass, piano/guitar) Syncopation The use of "Blue" note (also "worried" note) is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purpose Importance of the "solo"

Spontaneity Silence Syncopation Improvisation

Improvisation is the technique of changing a melody as you play it so that it’s not the same every time. This may be done by modifying the notes, rhythm, or both. In jazz, players often improvise to reflect their moods Syncopation—the emphasis is placed between the notes

K OMUNYAKAA ’ S POETRY About and informed/shaped by music Language, rhythm, pauses, unexpected moments Copacetic

C HARLIE P ARKER “Testimony”: a fourteen-page libretto that explores the life and legacy of Charlie Parker. It celebrates Parker's humanity, and, in doing so, it does not shy from the complexity of his music or personality. The poem encounters Parker at various stages of the alto saxophonist's life and presents a variety of voices that broaden our perspectives on the man and his music. Komunyakaa testifies to genius but never at the expense of human truths, nor does he allow biography to eclipse his own artistry: stanza by stanza, section after section, he fuses language and music with astonishing success (Feinstein). Miles Davis and Charlie Parker “Night in Tunisia”

"B LUE L IGHT L OUNGE FOR THE P ERFORMANCE P OETS AT H AROLD P ARK H OTEL " you gotta get hooked into every hungry groove so deep the bomb locked in rust opens like a fist into it into it so deep rhythm is pre-memory the need gotta be basic

“B LUE L IGHT LOUNGE ” “so deep words can't/answer simple questions” (“Blue Light” 2-3). the speaker explores his struggle to express his most internal thoughts and feelings the speaker wants to “blow that saxophone/so deep” (“Blue Light” 18-19) that he will be able to “vomit up ghosts” (“Blue Light” 12) of the past— ghosts of racism and hate

The speaker hopes that the music might be able to reach all the way to his core, and only the music will be able to bring out these dark, suppressed emotions without leaving him completely “broken” (“Blue Light” 13). The music of the saxophone holds everything the speaker has. With it, he might be able to “get hooked/into every human groove," and the speaker can dive into what it means to be human on both a personal level and on a universal level (“Blue Light” 29-30).

C ONCLUSION When reading Komunyakaa’s poetry, look and listen for musicality in his tone and lyricism in his language. His writing has been shaped by the jazz and blues music that has surrounded him for much of his life.