Clubscene - WordJazz

Grooving in Stumptown

Oom-pah
was the sound of
a birth pain
a drunken melody
reinventing
itself
into
an
elaborate syncopation
called ragtime
discard
the superfluous
and
you have the birth of
jazz

free-spirited
peripatetic melodies
traverse borders
and
opened minds
riding the rails
hitching rides on
paddlewheels
up the river
with
nothing but a bedroll

without constraints
itinerant melodies
st-r-e-t-c-h-ed
their melodic richness
to
the ultimate limits
of the
music universe

Musicians
putting down roots
in a
fertile valley
flanked by mounts
a sloping river
in a city that
excites the imagination
in the midst of
seedy streets
In the relaxed ambience
of nightclubs
ballrooms
hotels - concert halls
jazz lovers unite
within the glow
of spontaneous creation
jam sessions waft in
the night air

idyllic summer festive
occasions
on grassy recreational area
north westerners
get their groove on
the rain dries up
the sun shines
the air
calls your name

A subtle
propulsive rhythm
and
skilled modulation
of pitch
and
volume
a virtuoso performance
in the
use of the brushes
the bass player
stands plucking leisurely
soul stirring strings
like the steady thumps of a heart
rhythm
oozing out of his pores
his emotion betrayed
by his arched eyebrows
and
bemused smile

melodic sketches
on a tenor sax
blazing hot riffs
instinctively
working together
an
impeccable sense of swing
oh-so-smooth

a subdued trumpet
emulating
the influential voice
of a giant
a cool balance
between
the ultra funky
and
a smooth
piece of music

every tempo
is perfect for dancing
and every
musical mood is suffused
with passion
a perfect metaphor

Redd Williams
06/18/07