Just Jazz: A Poem by Indigo Bethea

Photo from the RezaRitesRi.com photo collection. Captured is latina jazz singer, Eva Cortes, and members of her band during their performance in July at JazzAldia, an annual jazz festival in San Sebastian, Spain.

Just Jazz
By Indigo Bethea

I was thinkin bout tension while I/watched you play.
Tension like/how you find your way into that crazy, frantic cachophany
Around you?

Yeah, I was thinkin bout the tension tween players/
Like when they try to find that sound that connects to another
And another and/and/and still rings true?

Tension like strings while the bass player pulls/and tugs/and slaps/
And outright attacks this inner vision makin its way out?

Almost makin me think there’s some/life lesson to be learned here…
Naah, you just playin jazz.

I was/thinkin bout rhythm while I/watched you play
And/how good this thing is

Like a message in notes sayin

“I know where you been from (hah!), and I knooow
Where ya goin to (my Lord), and I-I-I’m just here ta say (Well!)
That ya, ya ainnn’t got a rush
Cause you’ll get what’s yours either way! (Have mercy!)”

And I’m contemplatin the metaphor of 5-musicians-
With-5-instruments-with-5-rhythms-and-5-messages-to-tell
Ruminatin over/how those messages find each other so well

And I was wonderin-if-the-instrument-determined-the-message-or-if-the-message-determined-the-instrument-and-if there-is-a-connection-to-life/

Like do-my-experiences-make-me-or-do-I-make-my-experiences-and-is-there-room-for- change-either-way-and,

Why am I pushing this so hard? You just playin jazz!

But this tension, this rhythm is makin me feel like Sarah Vaughn,
Actin like you my Alfie askin

“What’s it all about, Alfie? What’s it all about, when you sort it out, Alfie?”

I was thinkin bout life while I/watched you play,
Watched you find your way into that chaos without fear
Of gettin lost

Like you was sayin with your doin that if you
Pull on that inner strength
Let it work its way on out
You too will sort it out

And it’s like these messages are wrappin
Around my mind like strings…
But it couldn’t be that heavy right?

You just playin jazz!