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Speak No Evil Jazz blog

Capital Public Radio's discussion of an art form born in America and celebrated worldwide.

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Falling In Love Supreme Finalist: Bob Stanley

Saturday, February 14, 2015
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I didn’t know how much I loved jazz when Dad played Bags Groove –

Milt Jackson, Miles – that slow anthem - almost every night during dinner.

Dad digs Modern Jazz Quartet too, so vibes filled

the sound track of our house above the Bay.

 

I didn’t know how much I loved jazz when my friend Pete put Monk on

at his parents’ place, and we were a little high,

so those crazy chords raced across my brain

spidering into patterns of synesthesia.

What was that?

 

I didn’t know how much I loved jazz when I took a class at American River College

to sing in Art LaPierre’s vocal ensemble.

I didn’t know we’d be swept away in waves of harmony

till we felt like Ellington’s sax section itself –

tight, tuned, swinging.

 

Working for Gary Vercelli in Studio A late at night, alone at the station,

listening to vocalists, the composers, the great soloists

selecting tunes for the next day’s show, I listened close,

but I didn’t even know then how much I loved jazz,

 

No, not until Addie Kelly passed away, and we went to the

African American Baptist Church in Vallejo, California and I heard the singing.

I heard the wailing and the interplay of God and humanity in the wild, sad

improvisation of gospel and blues, and there for the first time

I learned how much I loved;

I learned how much I loved jazz, too.

 

 

By Bob Stanley

Former Sacramento Poet Laureate, and a former intern at Capital Public Radio

    More about Falling In Love Supreme

  • Falling In Love Supreme

    Our music hosts contemplate the performances, songs and artists which sent them into a life time love affair with jazz as part of our series "Falling In Love Supreme." Listener-submission contest finalist essays are now posted.

    Related Stories

  • Bastian Sander / Flickr

    Falling In Love Supreme Essay Contest Winners Announced

    Wednesday, February 18, 2015
    Over the past month we've collected stories of how our staff and listeners fell in love with jazz. We thoughtfully read all the listener submissions and chose the ones that stood out. It was no small task, there were so many wonderful entries.

 Falling In Love Supreme

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