Cover art for the audiobook 'Poetry+Jazz: A Magical Marriage' featuring a stylized tree with a twist in its trunk, with leaves and seeds scattered around, against a yellow background.

Poetry+Jazz: A Magical Marriage (CD Audiobook)

By Sher Music Co

“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!’ 

Album Info:    Poetry + Jazz CD Booklet

Sample Tracks:

  • Inversely * by Kenneth Rexroth (read by Cory Bihr)
  • Kabir unnamed poem by Kabir (read by Coleman Barks)
  • Stripping by Alison Luterman (read by Rene Marie)
  • The Man Watching by Rainer Maria Rilke (read by Cory Bihr)

Track List

  1. Inversely by Kenneth Rexroth

  2. Accidents by Alison Luterman

  3. Fidelity by Tom Clark

  4. Unnamed Poem by Kabir

  5. Where He Found Himself by Stephen Dunn (Pulitzer Prize winner) 

  6. Stripping by Alison Luterman

  7. Kiss/Hierarchy by Alexandra van de Kamp

  8. Orpheus. Eurydice. Hermes by Rainer Maria Rilke

  9. Wean Yourself by Rumi

  10. On Living by Nazim Hikmet

  11. Positions of the Body by Carol Snow

  12. Visitation by Chuck Sher

  13. The Poem of Chalk by Philip Levine (Pulitzer Prize winner) 

  14. This World Which is Made of Our Love for Emptiness by Rumi

  15. Orpheus Alone by Mark Strand (US Poet Laureate) 

  16. Wings by Fred Andrle

  17. Blasphemy by Alison Luterman

  18. Unnamed Poem by C. Dylan Bassett

  19. Buoyancy by Rumi

  20. The Man Watching by Rainer Maria Rilke

  21. Deliverance by Sandra Anfang

  22. The Book of Hours by Rainer Maria Rilke

  23. The Ninth Duino Elegy by Rainer Maria Rilke

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

“Wow, who'd have thought. This is quite an amazing marriage, agreed!”
— Tim Garland, jazz artist
Format: Physical CD
$15.00
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Primary Instrument: All Instruments
Primary Instrument: All Instruments

“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

“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

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