EVENT
Poetry-Jazz and Kenneth Patchen
1959EVENT TYPE Cultural History
Touted as "one of the best poetry-jazz recordings of all time" (Larry Smith), the album Kenneth Patchen Reads with Jazz in Canada (Locust) was the result of a 1959 collaboration between American poet Kenneth Patchen and a quartet of Vancouver musicians led by Al Neil. Made all the more incredible by the fact that Patchen underwent major tooth surgery the day of the session, the album serves as a prime example of the spontaneous interaction between musicians and poet that characterizes the genre. Author Larry Smith describes Poetry-Jazz as an exchange in which "poet and jazzman each blow messages back at the world — hot and cool, passionate and cerebral. Each debunks the restraints and myths of "fine art" in favor of an immediate inner expression."
Patchen wrote poetry that reflected his "idealism, intense aversion to violence, especially war, and [his] disappointment in the mainstream America that he found himself isolated in" (Bill Smith). His words found their perfect mate in jazz music, which has been described by critic Alvin L. Kershaw as a genre that "realistically speaks of sorrow and pain" and "stimulates us to feel deeply and truthfully" (qtd. in Larry Smith). In this way, Patchen's Poetry-Jazz became a dynamic, synthesized art form, rather than a mere recitation of words put to music. Jazz critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, Ralph J. Gleason, described Patchen's developing genre as "a combination of jazz and poetry that would take nothing away from either form but would create something entirely new" (qtd. in Larry Smith).
The raw, emotional power of this "something entirely new" comes across in Al Neil's description of the recording of the song "Glory, Glory:
"�He [Patchen] really went out for it, he wailed! With our nerves, our hearts, we heard him coming on, ringing the changes, threading and pulling us in and out of the light — the King Cat making his scene! And on his face we could see that what we had to say back to him was making the same kind of "heart sense." It was there" (qtd. in Bill Smith).
Not surprisingly, this track has been referred to by reviewers as one of "the most intense and spirited recordings" (Allen) on the album.
Although commonly labeled as a Beat poet due to his creative exploration of the bankrupt nature of the modern age, Patchen in fact rejected this movement outright. Referring to the spectacle generated by the Beats as "A freak show worth every Madison Avenue penny of the three-dollar-bill admission" (qtd. in Bill Smith), Patchen wrote a formal declaration of independence from the Beats and poets of the San Francisco scene. For him, his integrity as a poet required him to follow other paths.
Like Al Neil, Patchen engaged in a cross-disciplinary approach to art making. In addition to fusing music with his poetry, he also viewed visual art as an integral component of his work. He writes, 'It happens that very often my writing with the pen is interrupted by my writing with brush, but I think of both as writing" (qtd. in "Kenneth").
Patchen wrote poetry that reflected his "idealism, intense aversion to violence, especially war, and [his] disappointment in the mainstream America that he found himself isolated in" (Bill Smith). His words found their perfect mate in jazz music, which has been described by critic Alvin L. Kershaw as a genre that "realistically speaks of sorrow and pain" and "stimulates us to feel deeply and truthfully" (qtd. in Larry Smith). In this way, Patchen's Poetry-Jazz became a dynamic, synthesized art form, rather than a mere recitation of words put to music. Jazz critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, Ralph J. Gleason, described Patchen's developing genre as "a combination of jazz and poetry that would take nothing away from either form but would create something entirely new" (qtd. in Larry Smith).
The raw, emotional power of this "something entirely new" comes across in Al Neil's description of the recording of the song "Glory, Glory:
"�He [Patchen] really went out for it, he wailed! With our nerves, our hearts, we heard him coming on, ringing the changes, threading and pulling us in and out of the light — the King Cat making his scene! And on his face we could see that what we had to say back to him was making the same kind of "heart sense." It was there" (qtd. in Bill Smith).
Not surprisingly, this track has been referred to by reviewers as one of "the most intense and spirited recordings" (Allen) on the album.
Although commonly labeled as a Beat poet due to his creative exploration of the bankrupt nature of the modern age, Patchen in fact rejected this movement outright. Referring to the spectacle generated by the Beats as "A freak show worth every Madison Avenue penny of the three-dollar-bill admission" (qtd. in Bill Smith), Patchen wrote a formal declaration of independence from the Beats and poets of the San Francisco scene. For him, his integrity as a poet required him to follow other paths.
Like Al Neil, Patchen engaged in a cross-disciplinary approach to art making. In addition to fusing music with his poetry, he also viewed visual art as an integral component of his work. He writes, 'It happens that very often my writing with the pen is interrupted by my writing with brush, but I think of both as writing" (qtd. in "Kenneth").
PHOTO GALLERY
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allen, Clifford. "Reads with Jazz in Canada and 14 Love Poems." Online Review of Kenneth Patchen Reads With Jazz in Canada. 7 June 2005. 20 Feb. 2008. http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=17409"Kenneth Patchen." Poets.org. Home page. Academy of American Poets. 20 Feb. 2008. http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/23
Smith, Bill. " "As I Opened the Window:" Al Neil — Part III- A Story of Interdisciplinary Art." Imagine the Sound. 5 Sep. 2005. 20 Feb. 2008. http://vancouverjazz.com/billsmith/23.shtml
Smith, Larry. "Kenneth Patchen — Poetry and Jazz Days, 1957-1959." Excerpt from Kenneth Patchen: Rebel Poet in America. Jacket Magazine. Apr 2000. Online Version. 20 Feb. 2008. http://jacketmagazine.com/12/patch-smith.html
