Poetry+Jazz: A Magical Marriage

“Poetry+Jazz: A Magical Marriage” is exactly that — an intertwining of two deep art forms to create something brand new — an audio book CD unlike anything done previously.

It consists of:
– World-class poetry (Rilke, Rumi, Rexroth, etc.), accompanied by recordings of
– World-class jazz compositions (Clare Fischer, Maria Schneider, Stan Getz, etc.), and read by
– World-class readers (including Rumi’s most-loved translator, Coleman Barks).

The results are full of deep emotion and beauty, as you can tell from the sample tracks below.
Happy listening to these ‘marriages made in heaven!’

Sample Endorsements

How fun and wonderful it was to hear my poem ‘Kiss/Hierarchy’ read and interpreted by Cory Bihr. The wonderful jazz music weaving in and out of Bihr’s words also helps and his mesmerizing way of working with that music. I couldn’t believe it was my poem at times as I listened to it. Listening to him made my day!”
— Alexandra van de Kamp, poet

I love the work you are doing with Rilke, Rumi, etc. Very beautiful!”
— Coleman Barks, poet, translator

Gee, I sound pretty good! Music is fine, too. Go right ahead.”
— Mark Strand, former US poet laureate

The poem has had to blush at being done up in so classy a fashion. Your setting and all the performances have certainly done my poem proud, Chuck. Deep thanks for that. The Rilke is superb as well. This looks like a great project, period.”
— Tom Clark, poet

I like these musical-vocal arrangements very much. Of course, your taste in music is the best and the music seems to complement, amplify and uplift the words in a way that really enhances the experience. These are great!”
— Alison Luterman, poet

Wow, who'd have thought. This is quite an amazing marriage, agreed!”
— Tim Garland, jazz artist

Chuck Sher has done an impeccable job with his CD Poetry + Jazz! The two art forms are melded to make it seem as if these independent works were actually created for this pairing.”
— Brent Fischer, Grammy®-winning producer, composer, arranger

Chuck Sher brings something new and special to the poetry and jazz genre with this release. Diverse, high-quality cuts from John Abercrombie, Stan Getz, Tribal Tech, Tony Scott, the Kronos Quartet, Maria Schneider, etc. enfold a sequence of strong readings from Rene Marie, Cory Bihr, Coleman Barks, Frank Ostaceski and Sher himself, who reads his own Visitation. Selections range from Rilke, including the magnificent Ninth Duino Elegy, to Rumi, Rexroth, Nazim Hikmet, Sandra Anfang and Carol Snow. Full marks to Sher for an ambitious and scrupulously realized project.”
— Jazz Journal

* Used with permission of New Directions Publishing.