JAM: February/March 2002 Issue: Storyville

PLAYING THE WORD: JAZZ POEMS
by Dan Jaffe

BkMk Press, University of Missouri-Kansas City, trade paper, 80 pages, $13.95, ISBN 1-886157-34-0, publ Nov. 30, 2001

"An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose." -- Langston Hughes

Appreciating the art of poetry in a more compelling way is often a matter of having the chance to see and hear a poet in a live setting. The dynamics of the moment can allow an audience to better understand a poet's words and how those words sometimes leap from the page in ways that are immediate and present.

Dan Jaffe

Even if you haven't had this kind of exposure to live poetry, Dan Jaffe's Playing the Word will take you there, all from the comfort of your favorite reading chair.

A closer look at the Kansas City jazz circles well known to the author reveals that for over four decades Dan Jaffe has shared his poems in concert with a number of distinguished jazz musicians. The book is dedicated to the memory of the late pianist George Salisbury (a good friend of Jaffe's), and there are also fitting tributes to such KC jazz icons as Milt Abel, Frank Smith and Claude "Fiddler" Williams.

As a poetic stylist, Jaffe shares a soulful vision, plays a mean solo, and connects to the essence of the jazz world. His underlying message conveys not only the desire to seek what is meaningful, but also the pulse of the words that eventually lead to that meaning, both hidden and obvious.

Jaffe's shades and colors represent the subtle brush strokes of language that encourage the reader to get lost in the imagery. Yet at the same time, there are vivid splashes of bold that capture the reader's attention. Take a look at "Breakdown Blues":

When she said goodnight at last I knew
her goodnight really meant goodbye.
There wasn't much for me to do
but drive away and justify.

There wasn't time for me to spend
chasing her from tree to tree.
There comes a time when end means end,
and we break down to her and me.

Jaffe sometimes asks no more of the reader than a simple attitude of play. For example, "Walking With Mingus" and "Bop Talk at Minton's" illustrate how the creation of a poem using an open form of word configuration provides both a visual and musical process. The arrangement of the words along with their reference to the artist(s) and intended printed "designs" asks the reader simply to enjoy the sights and sounds, but not to lose one's place.

These poems also underscore rhythms, figures of speech, imagery, and musical notation by adding more to what is visually implied. This is how Jaffe "plays with the word." And the result can stir, touch and gladden, while speaking volumes.

The main thing that gives jazz-life to Jaffe's poetic expressions, however, is how the words themselves communicate either a sense of euphony or cacophony. There is the consonance of "Addie Parker's Blues," but there is also the discordant improvisational effect of "Yardbird," which captures the spirit of a Charlie Parker practice session.

Dan Jaffe's Playing the Word is neither meant to be fully described, nor can it be ascribed to definitions of what a collection of jazz poems might be. Any criticism would be wholly subjective.
But a poem like "Coda for a Horn Player," will touch just the right chord. And then move the reader emphatically.

All you can do
Is what the Bird tried to:

Blow it out your soul
And hear it float back.

Let's play one for them