National Poetry Month #1: Shafi Hadi’s Silence
Sean MurphyApril, according to this poet, is the cruelest month. April, according to these lovers of poetry, is National Poetry Month, and the only cruelty is metaphorical (which isn't to say…
Poem: Where the Hell is Shafi Hadi? (Revisited)
(*Saxophone player Shafi Hadi, born Curtis Porter, is best-known for his association with jazz legend Charles Mingus, and played on the seminal recording Mingus Ah Um, from 1959. He dropped…
ALL HAIL THE KING: Happy Birthday, Chazz!
Today would have been (and, still is) Charles Mingus’s 94th birthday. I’ve written about him often and I’ll continue to write about him, not only because he is one of…
Where the Hell is Shafi Hadi?: A Poem (Revisited)
(*Saxophone player Shafi Hadi, born Curtis Porter, is best-known for his association with jazz legend Charles Mingus, and played on the seminal recording Mingus Ah Um, from 1959. He dropped…
Happy Birthday Chazz: Mingus at 93
Today would have been (and, still is) Charles Mingus's 93rd birthday. I've written about him often and I'll continue to write about him, not only because he is one of…
Happy Birthday Chazz: Mingus at 92
Today would have been (and, still is) Charles Mingus's 92nd birthday. I've written about him often and I'll continue to write about him, not only because he is one of…
Happy Birthday Chazz: Mingus at 91
Today would have been (and, still is) Charles Mingus's 91st birthday. I've written about him often and I'll continue to write about him, not only because he is one of…
A Week of Americana. Part Two: Mingus Ah Um
If we're going to talk about America, we've got to talk about Mingus. It's really that simple. As readers of this blog know, while I don't go out of my…
Happy 90th, Chazz
Today would have been (and, still is) Charles Mingus's 90th birthday. I've written about him often and I'll continue to write about him, not only because he is one of…
The Real Life Fable of Charles Mingus and Orval Faubus
On Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock. Charles Mingus had many things…