2008 Woodie Awards
Gilfoy and friends fuse jazz and poetry
Shawna Woodall
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Entertainment
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The lights dim, and the audience becomes quiet. The drummer drives the beat and the bass begins bopping up and down the scale.
Louie, Mel and Ella scat a tune in four-four time, the poet rhythmically continues in her cool, soft voice. Words don't make sense. Words don't rhyme.
Curiosity sparked, a young man wearing a green shirt with white stripes and a baseball cap leans forward to hear more.
Dwee dwee ah. Dwee dwee ah. Shobba dot. Dot, Miller scats with the drums, bass and now the piano accompanying her.
Singers swing in four-four scat. Shoo dwah bobben dot. Shoo bot - dew ah. How about that?
The tune pranced out from the stage and danced through the air into the ears of the audience who wore an expression of intrigue and awe as the night unfolded. The jazz poem "4/4 Time" was one of several tunes heard throughout the night.
Jack Gilfoy and friends performed jazz poetry for his faculty recital April 7 in the IU School of Music's concert hall at the Informatics and Communications Technology Complex. Guests Rob Dixon, saxophone, Monika Herzig, piano, Frank Smith, acoustic bass, Bam Miller, poet and Norbert Krapf, poet, joined Gilfoy for the concert.
Jazz poetry emerged in the early 20th century. Poetry was taking a less structured and less conventional form at the same time jazz was evolving. The juxtaposition of these two art forms created jazz poetry.
Don Willing, jazz lover, heard about the recital from his neighbor Grady Chism, biology professor. Willing said he went to the concert for some good jazz.
Among the nights selections were Krapfs "What Have You Gone and Done," "The Other Side," "Etheridge Knights Blues," along with Miller's "Ballad of Henri Giraffe," Spectre Solo and Life on the Road featuring the man of the hour, Gilfoy.
Krapf's collection of poetry includes "Somewhere in Southern Indiana," "The Country I Come From" and the upcoming "Bloodroot: Indiana Poems" published by the IU Press.
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