A Pall Mall Anthem in a Harlem Joint

A Pall Mall Anthem in a Harlem Joint

 

 

jazzy exposition

scat-man, scat-woman

scattered blues

in a dizzy room

sax catching Jack sleeping in the corner

of desperation

 

shouting through the smoke-filled lounge

someone just woke up and found his keys

ivory woman wants a ride

she's the scat-woman

he's the scat-man

the blues are broken up

into shattered notes

&

signed by the forlorn trumpeter's

fictionalized account of his own life.

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

10/20/19

Reviews

[barleygirl]

I confess, I was distracted by "scat" (droppings all over your poem) *wink! wink!* Upon googling, I found an obscure jazzy, nonsensical singing-riff definition that reminded me of how I chant silly shim-sham to my dogs, in lieu of conversation. With that settled, I went on to love your poem! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i bet your dogs love your scat...not necessarily your cat...but the singing...
thank you for your kind words, Margie,
j.

[Lydia Shutter]

You really took us to the scene in this one. I could almost smell the whiskey and cigarettes! Oh, the stories told in that sort of joint.....and the people who want so badly to believe them. Great one. Lydi**

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Lydi,
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

Could that forlorn trumpeter have been Chet Baker? Jazz is definitely an American invention and the 50's the epitome of jazz cool. Can't listen to jazz without picturing a smoky nightclub and women in flowing dresses and men in suits ... tie askew ... fedora resting on a table top tapping their feet and snapping their fingers.

Can't help but think of Scatman Crothers ... great name.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Ted....perhaps Chet Baker...yes, good name, Scatman Crothers...good name.

j.

[Chris Shaw]

Scat woman has to be Ella Fitzgersld. I was brought up listening to her and many other jazz singers. Our childhood home oozed jazz. You create quite the scene here Jacob. Just as I would imagine it to be. Thanks for the nostalgia trip. Ella !ives on for me.


Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Chris...
j.

[Leslie Philibert]

Fine poem, and like to add I`m just working through a lot of William Faulkner novels, what a brillant novelist ! And makes me sad to think that Peter Handke got the Nobel Prize, what a bad choice !
This poem catches perfectly the kind of sleezy, atmospheric feeling that is unique to jazz, Kerouac wrote brillantly about jazz, James Baldwin too, and you get this right too !

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i have a book of Kerouac's Blues Poetry....lots of good stuff there, although getting through On The Road was a chore for me...as was my Faulkner seminar in grad school...thank you for your words, Leslie.
j.

[Robert Trakofler]

I have been working on 20 seconds of a coltrane song in poetic expression I have started it and stopped it several times now it is amazing what is inside of 20 second segment of a coltrane song! Improvisation at its best in here someday's the improve flows golden... others it lays flat notes on the ground next to the sleeping man but you live again to slap the keys another day to catch the waves... Clever clever clever Jacob, great painting!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for sharing about your Coltrane song...look forward to the finished product...thank you for your words, Bunny.
j.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Not so much jazz as being jazzed! The insincerity of that female player who woke up the sleeping player and got his fingers dancing over the keys of his alto sax only to find she didn't want to duet with him in the end.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insights, John,
j.

[R.E. Ray]

J., I can see this playing out and the smoke, too. It's mood found in the jazz and blues bars I've visited along the southern end of the Mississippi River, mostly in the Memphis area. "Scat-man" and "scat-woman" are images and sounds not easily forgotten. So many other places we can find such colorful characters.

As a side note, I've been to Pall Mall, Tennessee, where today you find considerably fewer tobacco fields. Interesting place since it's also the hometown of Sergeant Alvin York (World War I). Good write, J. with so many memories rising in memory's fog.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, R.E....and i would have liked to visit Sgt. York's hometown....loved that movie of his life..Gary Cooper is one of my favorites..
thanks for getting in the mood for some jazz...
j.

[BlackRose]

Those 'jazz hands' writing such a wonderful piece. Feel as if I'm sitting at a round table with a volative lit in the middle lighting the dark room hearing such as the old jazz singers like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, etc.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, BlackRose,
j.

[BlackRose]

You're welcome my friend. BR @'~/:o)

[Sami Khalil]

I know Ella Fitzgerald was the queen of scat. I feel a story unfolding in your poem, of the past in Harlem coming alive with the wonderful music. You are jazzing us up. Wonderful as usual sir Jacob...

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Sami,
j.

[Sami Khalil]

You are welcome sir Jacob.