TIN MEN AND THE TELEPHONE at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, July 2017 Poem by Hazel Smith
so often a jazz performance /only swings with sub-Coltrane licks/but experimentalism is the whipping boy/ of evolution
ON THE ROAD by JACK KEROUAC Story by Stephen Andrew
Kerouac’s bebop fills my body. His mellifluous slurring cha-cha-cha’s itself into a new instrument, floating notes like his beloved Charlie Parker saxophone...
A certain song by Van Morrison. Story by Rijn Collins
With a scowl that could scorch the tops of crème brûlée, I would stalk through the bar to the alleyway to glower outside until the song ended. Even the rotting potato peels and pools of stale beer were preferable to hearing it again.
RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET by NAT KING COLE Story by John Tait
Word on the streets is that she used to sing on Saturday nights at the Collingwood Town Hall. Does she even know who she is? What do the voices in her head tell her? She is very private, never sharing anything of herself, except her song.
Living It Up by Rickie Lee Jones
The pokey terrace in Abbotsford didn't seem so dark when I played the Rickie Lee Jones albums; the trains not so loud, the Hoddle St traffic not so near, the ghostly factory not so empty.
Moondance by Van Morrison
In a clandestine operation my wife had left me and took everything but my beloved stereo system in the lounge room (including 500 or so records and a CD collection that was rapidly catching up) and, in the spare room, a single bed.
Valentine’s Day at Stereo Stories
A medley of romantic stories to mark Valentine's Day: The Eels, Vince Jones, Bon Iver, The Church, The Beatles.
Giant Steps by John Coltrane
David Oke Geelong 1982 In my university music major I had my eyes opened to the art form of Jazz music. John Coltrane’s Giant Steps, title track of his 1959 album, always made me pull my head in. It was a reality check. It was wild.
Into The Mystic by Van Morrison
Chris Phillips Maternity Ward, East Melbourne; April 2003 The midwives are attending to other new mums or about-to-be mums. Paul’s putting our stuff in the car to go home. I am a bit nervous that it’s now just the two of us.
Beach house records – part 3
Vin Maskell Moggs Creek, Australia; 1983 to 2013 The third and final part of our series about family, a beach house and its record collection.