The Jazzschool in downtown Berkeley is hosting a three-day jazz-and-poetry "Literary Groove of Jazz" weekend, Friday through Sunday, May 1-3, featuring performances by leading lights in the Bay Area's jazz-poetry scene, including poet Michael McClure, saxophonist George Brooks, poet and percussionist Avotcja, and writer/storyteller Opal Palmer Adisa, as well as a workshop led by McClure and Brooks.
Earlier this year, The Jazzschool was awarded an American Composers Forum grant and commissioned Brooks to compose a new piece of music to perform with McClure. Brooks wrote a piece entitled "Double Moiré," for McClure's poem "Double Moiré for Francis Crick," which will premiere at the weekend's May 3 concert.
(Science Fact of the Day: Francis Crick was a molecular biologist and co-discoverer of the molecular structure of DNA, and shared a Nobel Prize with James D. Watson and Maurice Wilkins in 1962.)
Brooks and McClure, who have been frequent collaborators in recent years, will perform with bassist Chris Lopes and drummer Scott Amendola.
"Michael's poetry is a powerful creative stimulant for me," says Brooks. "His visceral and visual imagery inspires me to explore, both inside myself and on new musical terrain."
McClure and Brooks will lead a workshop entitled "Composition, Improvisation and Collaboration" from 1-3 pm on Sunday, May 3, prior to their 4.30 pm concert. According to an e-mail from Brooks, both men will discuss the "challenges and rewards inherent in collaboration between poets and musicians and explain the creative processes involved" in the development of "Double Moiré."
Video and photos of the events will be added to McClure's archive, which for the last seven years has been housed at the University of California Bancroft Collections.
For more information, call 510.845.5373 or visit The Jazzschool's website.
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