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Title details for Testimony, a Tribute to Charlie Parker by Yusef Komunyakaa - Available

Testimony, a Tribute to Charlie Parker

With New and Selected Jazz Poems

by Yusef Komunyakaa
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Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa is well known for his jazz poetry, and this book is the first to bring together the verve and vitality of his oeuvre. The centerpiece of this volume is the libretto "Testimony." Paying homage to Charlie Parker, "Testimony" was commissioned for a radio drama with original music by eminent Australian composer and saxophonist Sandy Evans. Remarkably rich and evocative, encompassing a wide range of musical energy and performers, this moving affirmation of Parker's genius became a milestone in contemporary radio theater. Twenty-eight additional poems spanning the breadth of Komunyakaa's career are included, including two never previously published. Accompanying the poems are interviews and essays featuring Komunyakaa, Evans, radio producer Christopher Williams, jazz critic Miriam Zolin, jazz writer and editor Sascha Feinstein, and musical director, Paul Grabowsky. Sascha Feinstein writes the foreword. The print edition includes two CDs with the entire Australian Broadcast Company recording of Testimony, ebook contains imbedded audio. Check for the online reader's companion at testimony.site.wesleyan.edu.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Wesleyan Poetry Series

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 20, 2025

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780819574930

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780819574930
      • File size: 1564 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from October 15, 2013

      This career-spanning selection of Komunyakaa's (The Chameleon Couch) jazz-inspired poetry showcases the title piece, a libretto by composer Sandy Evans set to music by the Australian Broadcast Company (included here on two CDs). "Testimony" is a flowing, poly-voiced mosaic of lyrical narratives evoking events in saxophonist Charlie Parker's life. An iconic artist able to listen "with his whole body," Parker (1920-55) absorbed the disparate sounds of his world and translated them into music: "A train whistle/ in the distance, gun shot/ through the ceiling, a wood warbler/ back in the Ozarks at Lake Taneycomo, he'd harmonize/ them all." In addition to the poems, this volume provides interviews, commentaries, and bibliographies that offer insight on the creative interactions between the poet's words and the music they inspired. VERDICT Uniquely tuned to the emotional physicality of jazz, Komunyakaa understands the inherent poetry of sound ("high heels at daybreak/ is the saddest refrain"), presenting a rich reading and listening experience for poetry fans and jazz enthusiasts alike.--Fred Muratori, Cornell Univ. Lib., Ithaca, NY

      Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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