E-MAIL FROM HARRY BERNSTEIN (4/3/25)

H.B.: I'm still trying to narrow down the folks who I know will be brilliant; a couple more have occurred to me: Ben Goldberg (clarinet) and Derren Johnston (trumpet). We have an embarrassment of riches here in the bay area.  I'll decide soon enough. 

Thank you for the link to the performance at Colburn. Wonderful performance. However, this question: I hadn't realized until watching the performance that your concept is for the musical element to be a fairly straightforward "inside" rendition of the various tunes. The musicians I have in mind all excel at free improvisation. That's not to say they can't perform in more traditional modes. Ben Goldberg gave an all Monkperformance at a home concert a couple of years ago that was brilliant. But would you be comfortable with a performance where the music is more abstract — not overtly linked to the melodies upon which your poems are inspired/based? I would imagine there might be occasional references, more or less abstract, to the melodies in question. But I don't think the musicians I have in mind would be interested in straight renditions of the music. 

P.V.: My answer is a radical (i.e. technical) response: relying on Aristotle’s notion ofteknh (tekné: imaginative extensions of technique). Technique focusing on poetic language remains for Aristotle the most significant of the poetry’s three properties: more so than ethics (ethos) or pity (pathos).

Performing alongside musicians always challenges with the question of how or when to speak while part of a musical complex. With more straight-ahead (as you call them “inside” players”), the balance was sought as a soloist, along with trumpet, trombone and vocalist, to find a way into the tune, which sometimes felt rather mechanical, if not limited. Waiting for the piano, bass and drums to start comping and signal it was time for the words to appear. I’d often envision being a peculiar andextravagant member of the rhythm section, entering wherever it might fit the comings and goings of an often-venerable melody.

It would be interesting to perform with whatever player or players feel right in a redefined, extended notion of the quartet. Certainly, more in keeping with the spirit of improvisation & discovery I sought when I started Just in Time a couple of years ago.

If my answer seems a little tentative or provisional, it’s probably because I have little experience – outside the more innovative jazz players I worked with in Italy some time back. It ought to be exciting to try.