Storyville

Notes for a poem on New Orleans & Jaz

 

New Orleans

You got trams like Melbourne

You got

Jazz like New Orleans

You got Jelly Roll

You got 4 bar then more

You got

Buddy Bolden

(his mumma scared)

You got

Spanish tinge

You got

Erotic motion

 

You got Jelly's great grandmother

You tell a

You the night watchman

You the night watch all right man

You got singin'

You got the piano

You got the Jelly Roll Blues

You got ravi music

You got Storyville

You got Jassmine

So sweet in the air it send you crazy

You call it jazz

You got film an speeded up motion

You got heat

An high emotion

You got Sidney Besche

The poet of New Orleans Music

Creole music

At 10 years old

At 16 you leave school

An bring your personality

To your instrument

You love the lonesome blues

Through your horn

You find notes no-one

Even suspected were in that thing

 

You got the

Victor Victrola

1901

No-one thinks of recording Jazz

 After Buddy

You have Freddy Keppler

Laughing through the wah-wah mute

In 1914

The Original Creole Orchestra

Hits LA

An busses to Chicago

He very big an very strong

Your mute fly out yo' trumpet onto the dance floor

It in the papers

It never

Happen before

 

You frightened other people steal your stuff

February 26th 1917

The Original Dixieland Orchestra

5 white musicians

led by Nick

La Rocca

Play Dixieland One Step

You play  

Horses

You play

Roosters

You play

Around on record

First time in history

250,000 copies at 50 cents each

 

Then you got influenza

You got nervous breakdown

You got construction - no-one ever know

You play music

You got

Buddy locked up in the Jacksonville

Insane Asylum

His mumma

Get so scared she call police

He never play the horn again

You got

T' excuse me right now

I got ta

Get some sleep

You know what I mean?

 
Lyndon Walker
Sunday, August 10, 2003
6:21pm