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Universal Canticle

2011; University of Oklahoma; Volume: 85; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/wlt.2011.0059

1945-8134

Virgil Mihaiu, Adam J. Sorkin,

Musicology and Musical Analysis

^^Q^^^^^^^^^^^MH Finesse de Brasil thebossa novas ofthe '60s accompaniedby thevaguelyirregular vaguelyneurotic rimshots ofthestick clicking horizontally on thesnaredrum from theperspective ofthe21stcentury a sortofclockwork tick-tock finely and discreetly dissolved ina timeoffinesse and discretion dissolvedina memory flaring phosphorescent intheclosing chords ofcantabilepoetries oflegiblemelodies Universal Canticle woman ifyou had nothing butjazz whatwould you choose forthechildinyourwomb tolistento beforethespringofmilkstartstoflow? onlybillevans playingglass beads on a keyboard ofice crystals and sugar? onlythefrenetic clowning ofdizzy gillespie puffing outhisjowls behindthetrumpet likea prince turnedintoa bullfrog? onlytheloniousmonk crossinga tightrope witha piano on hisback? onlythecoltraneanleap overthelion's den balancingwiththeax ofhissax? butifall theselullabies seem tooneurotic forthelittleone? thenwhynot theblue-note-drenched rhapsody launchedin 1924 outofthecannons ofthebattleship gershwin? whynottheflirting ofmusicalpontiffs withjazzy butterflies? Stravinsky Shostakovich ravel prokofiev bartók martinu orthechords underwhich thediscords amonggenres becomeextinguished debussydissolvedinjarrett janácek's trumpets absorbedinorgies letloose on theorgan bykeithemerson VirgilMihaiu (b. 1951,Cluj,Romania) isa writer, jazz critic, diplomat,jazz aesthetics professor, polyglot,current directorofthe RomanianCulturalInstitute Lisbon,and minister counselor withthe Romanian EmbassyofPortugal.He isa memberoftheDown Beat, Steaua, and JazzForumeditorialboards. Authoroffifteen books (poetry, essays,monographs),Mihaiuisalso a jazz-poetryperformer and authorofradioand TV programs,artfilms, and musiccollages fortheater/danceperformances.He has won prizesand awards in Romania,Poland,and Portugal. Adam J.Sorkinrecently published two books fromthe University ofPlymouthPress(UK),loan Es.Pop's No WayOutofHadesburg (2010), and MirceaIvänescu'slinespoems poetry(2009), both translatedwithLidiaVianu,and he isthe maintranslator (withthe poet) ofCarmen Firan's Rockand Dew (Sheep Meadow Press,2010). He is DistinguishedProfessor ofEnglishat Penn State Brandywine. March-April 2011 133 LU 5 Í z I Q. JAZZ POETRY scintillating-somber clustersdetonatedamong thekeys undertheaegis ofcharlesives foreshadowing somber-scintillating clusters wrenchedoutofthepiano's gears bymercilessceciltaylor dances from transylvania dobrogeaand wallachia transfigured ina divinetrance bytheodorrogalski rhythms genetically transmitted good forinstilling vitalenergyintheembryo afro-american afro-brasilian afro-cuban stop:tangonuevo aksakrhythms Celtic balkanic ibero-caucasian celto-iberic rhythms break:fado deliriumordeliciumthepossiblereality surpasses realvirtuality hermeto pascoal measuresthevocal aura ofhumanbeings as well as ofbirds orothercreatures left byprovidence on terrafirma edu lobo can makeeven wolves adore thesamba torn zé teaches industrialtools tocroon oh brasil meuamor (when so manywomen don'tunderstandyou whyshould a whole country return yourlove?) brazil- enchantment oftheunborn chantofhope forthosealreadyborn aquareladobrasil paintedin goldensounds byarybarroso in 1934 0,oiestas fontes murmurantes oiondeeu mato a minha sede e ondea lúa vembrincar oim,essebrasil lindoe trigueiro é o meubrasilbrasileiro terra desambae pandeiro brasil!brasil!, prámim. . .prá mim. . . thecolumnofsinger-angels withgold wings antôniocarlosjobimand elis regina chicobuarque joäo and astrudgilberto caetanoveloso and mariabethânia joäo bosco gilberto gil egbertogismonti nana Vasconcelos gal costa Joyce baden powell toninhohorta theman ofthefuture shelteredfromthisworld's evil untilhisbirth lethimlisten tothehymnsofintelligence and intuition composed byjoe zawinul and wayne shorter whentheyled thegroup weatherreport swaddle himinthemagicofthealbum mysterious traveller givehimgames inventedon trombone byalan tomlinsonoryvesrobert 341WorldLiterature Today fillhisears withcontorted pianisticlinesdefying premature death configured byvagifmustafazade accustomhim tothesenseofmeasure immeasurableinthepercussionofjack dejohnette airtomoreira maxroachand Vladimir tarasov thedrumeffervescence of barryaltschul theexplosionofvitality and barbarousgenerosities ofdrum-god corneliustroe roncarter'sfingers transmitting wisdom on double-bassstrings toteachthelittleman in thewomb a senseofequilibrium gliding on thebass guitar jaco pastorius'sphalanges silencedtooearly bestowtheright offlight on theinstruments inthebackgroundoftheJapanese tapestry whenthefetusdesires tofallbeautifully asleep makehimlistento ina silent way withmilesdavis and hiscohortofjoy-hoarders: zawinul tonyWilliamsdave hollandshorter mclaughlinhancockchickcorea whenhe wants togetbeautifully up playhim catalogue withganelin-chekasin-tarasov fewarethemasterpieces protected bythegods forthewhole durationofa disk do notrefuse live-evil also bymiles (themirror inwhich lifeand evil melttogether leadingtowardexorcism) don't forget gasliniplaysmonk orextrapolation - 1969(mclaughlin'stricky compositionsare handled withrecklessabandon byJohn surman/ baritonesax,brianodges / bass, and tony oxley/ drums) don'twipe yourtearsexceptwiththehands of paul bley (did he writeplumb on thepiano? ordid bacovia play tears in ancestralwords?) don'thide hecho a mano wherechano dominguez shaves chordsfromthepiano likethearchetypal guitarist paco de lucía unchainedover thevolcano carlesbenavent- thecatalan unleashedover theeruptionofhis own bass guitarsubsumed into fiery streamsoflava remember ellington alreadywithhis smoky-orchestral alloys back in thejazz age revivedin thetwenty-first century bymathiasriiegg& theviennaartorchestra learnthefrenziedaria accordingtotheitalianinstabileorchestra contaminate yourself withthelifejubilation accordingtocarloactisdato arkadyshilkloper anatolstefänet yurikuznetsov zurab gagnidze . . . establishpeace betweenthedesperateexaltationofhendrix and thecelestialharmonyoftheVietnamese musicalesoterica through nguyenle and huong thanh March-April 2011 135 JAZZ POETRY liberateyourself from tragedy listening torichardoschanitzky mozartreborninjazz crucified forus insound transmit tothelittle baby thefeeling ofproto-indo-european linguistic relics withthesaxophones ofthelithuanianpetrasvysniauskas orthelatvianraimondsraubisko theplanetaryeuphonydisplaced byearthheaven and sea fromtheadriatic-dalmatian archipelago directly intotheorchestrations ofthequasi-clujeanzagrebians miljenkoprohaska ortomislavsaban theserpentines ofthebigbands setinmotionbytheitalianpaolo damiani Q: How were you firstintroduced to jazz? I A: Myintroductionto jazz happened gradually.Fortunately, I thisprocess is stillgoing on today. Fromthe verybeginning, I such music sounded...