My First Car and All that Jazz
At the age of 31, I bought my first car—
a fading blue ’53 Chevy which I called
the Blue Blazer for $125
What a bargain!
When I saw Thelonious Monk on the cover of Time
and heard he was featured at Shelley’s Manne Hole on
North Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood, me and Blue Blazer
took off to hear him and his band perform
“Round Midnight” driving on Hollywood and Pasadena
Freeways, “Straight, No Chaser” “Reflections” of
a “Blue Monk” “Epistrophy” did "Rhythm-A-Ning" me
all the way home
Blue Blazer also took me to Shelley’s Manne Hole
to hear and watch the Modern Jazz Quartet, Charles
Lloyd. Carmen McRae, Miles Davis and Bill Evans who
was one of the pianists on the greatest jazz albums
ever recorded, Miles’ maga-classic, Kind of Blue
One year after the riots or uprising
depending on your point of view
I attend the Watts Jazz Festival
In the afternoon under the junk sculpted tower of Simon Rodia,
the drumming is like a flower power fiesta at a love-in
and DEEP in my heart I do believe that
ONE DAY
WE
BLACK AND WHITE TOGETHER
SHALL OVERCOME
But as Hugh Masekela trumpet fanfares West Coast
sundown, majority of minority Euro-Americans leave festival
and l am left with a few other white skins engulfed
in a Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness night
War beat takes over drums
Flash backs to year ago unrest follow
“BURN, BABY, BURN.”
“GET WHITEY!”
“BLACK POWER!”
Suddenly blonde Euro in bare midriff stands up
in spotlight and shakes blue jean booty to
roar and laughter of jazz aficionado assembly
A jazz brother needs a ride
and in my ’53 Chevy, I drive him to his ghetto home
My pale blue clunker could have broken down there
but it didn’t
And even if it did
as Miles Davis might have “kind of blued” with
muted horn to Bill Evan’s piano introduction,
“SO WHAT”
No comments:
Post a Comment