New Jazz Poets
Various Artists

A unique subgenre, the history of jazz poetry runs parallel to the musical movement, in which jazz and its artists serve as a muse for the authors. This collection of New Jazz Poets represents the evolution of this art form after several decades of its practice and includes celebrated poets Ishmael Reed, Peter La Farge, Joel Oppenheimer and Paul Blackburn, who are each capable of making jazz heard by using words alone.
*Content Advisory:
The title and lyrics of track 208 contain derogatory language. While it is offensive to us, we have chosen for the song titles to remain as published and interpreted in the time period in which they were written. We believe that to do otherwise would be to change a historical document. The “n word” was commonplace for a time in history, especially during the era of Jim Crow. Its circulation and popularization through blackface minstrelsy became associated with the identity of Black people in a white supremacist society.
For our policy on controversial recordings, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Track Listing
101
|
Jitterbugging in the Streets | Calvin Hernton | 5:58 | |
102
|
The Second Coming | John Morgan | 1:53 | |
103
|
Autumn, 1964 | Peter La Farge | 2:41 | |
104
|
March on the Delta | Art Berger | 1:12 | |
105
|
From the Valley of the Shadows | Ree Dragonette | 1:07 | |
106
|
If I Ride This Train | Joe Johnson | 1:32 | |
107
|
African Memories | Joel Oppenheimer | 1:39 | |
108
|
Lady Day Spring | Ronald Stone | 3:25 | |
109
|
Listening to Sonny Rollins At the Five-Spot | Paul Blackburn | 1:08 | |
201
|
Canto 4, Six Cylinder Olympus | Percy Johnson | 0:57 | |
202
|
The Jackal Headed Cowboy | Ishmael Reed | 3:12 | |
203
|
Kauri | Will Inman | 2:04 | |
204
|
Elvin Jones Gretch Freak | David Henderson | 5:43 | |
205
|
Poem to Americans | Gerald Jackson | 1:58 | |
206
|
Poems From Oklahoma | Allen Katzman | 0:57 | |
207
|
Gyre's Galax | Norman Pritchard | 1:51 | |
208
|
Asian Nigger* | George Preston | 2:31 | |
209
|
Poem for Adolph Eichman | John Harriman | 1:25 | |
210
|
I Am a Multitude | Allen De Loach | 2:52 | |
211
|
To Jackie In Jail | Stephen Tropp and Howard Hart | 3:09 | |
212
|
Poem to Ernie Henry | Gloria Tropp | 1:12 |