Rabble Without A Cause, June 26, 2024: Jazz and the Spoken Word (new and old)

Jazz with spoken word has a long history - we will hear some old tracks and fresh ones

Jazz and spoken word, mostly poetry, have been heard together for many decades. Initially popularized by the American poet, Langston Hughes, there were many other poets who embraced the freedom of jazz. Here is Langston Hughes on CBC Vancouver in 1958, reciting his poem, “The Weary Blues”.

On tonight’s show I will be featuring spoken word and jazz - both new and old. We will hear Gil Scott-Heron with a poem about John Coltrane and Love Supreme, as well as Amiri Baraka reading a poem about Sun Ra, accompanied by Hugh Ragin and his ensemble.

We will also hear some newer spoken word compositions, from Allison Au, Jamie Baum, Amirtha Kidambi and The Elder Ones, and the Irreversible Entanglements.

We will also dip into Aja Monet’s album, “when the poems do what they do”. Aja Monet will be playing at the Ottawa Jazz Festival on Saturday at the NAC.

You can listen live on Wednesday night at 11 p.m. at 93.1 FM or live stream at CKCUFM.com. The show is also available to stream on demand.