“It’s sound-art, both word and song, performed in the moment, playful, moving and surprising.” –Steve Blons, Soul Café

Soul Cafe and Lucia © Andrea Canter

When I was a young college student in the late 60s, a typical campus “night spot” was our generation’s “coffee house.” Nothing like the ultra slick Starbuck’s of today, these were small, dark, often subterranean spaces where aspiring poets and musicians came together to muse on the frustrations and possibilities of politics, capitalism, and of course love.

To be enjoyed in brighter light with better coffee, that intimate ambience and collaborative artistry of the 60s shines throughout Soul Café’s new recording, The Poetry of Jazz (Dr. Jazz Music). While the merger of jazz and poetry is hardly new—notably the works of the late Steve Lacy, Fred Hersch (Whitman’s Leaves of Grass), and Patricia Barber (Ovid’s Metamorphoses)—Soul Café’s approach allows each poem and song to stand on its own, juxtaposed as complementary yet independent expressions of common emotion. Alternating spoken word and chamber jazz presentations, those explorations of the 60s are recalled with timeless themes as mundane as the inscrutability of the cat and as profound as the angst of lost love. In particular, The Poetry of Jazz matches the verses of Chilean Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda (mostly but not always in English) with an inspired selection of vocal and instrumental arrangements of Rogers and Hart classics, common and less familiar, and one original tune, all delivered by the virtuoso Twin Cities trio of Soul Café—guitarist Steve Blons, alto saxophonist Brad Holden and pianist/composer Laura Caviani (who provides “Yes We’ve Met” based on the chord changes of “Have You Met Miss Jones?”). They’re joined on 4 tracks by vocalist (and frequent compatriot) Lucia Newell, who also lends her singularly enticing timbre to most of the poetry readings.

Laura Caviani © Andrea Canter

A key to the intimacy generated by this studio recording is the re-creation of a Soul Café evening. For nearly five years, the trio performed almost monthly in the gallery of Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, illustrating the affinity of jazz, poetry and spirit while always anchored in secular themes—programs that matched the Beat poets with Thelonious Monk, e.e.cummings with Wayne Shorter, and (as on the recording), Pablo Neruda with Rogers and Hart. Recording in front of a live audience within the studio at Creation Audio, it’s as if one of those Sunday night performances has been lifted directly from the church gallery to CD—only with better sound, as Steve Wiese has managed to capture the clarity and warmth that surrounds you when merely a few feet from the source.

The other key to the intimate feel of The Poetry of Jazz is the songful quality generated by each musician and reader through 17 tracks (7 poetry readings, 9 tunes from Rogers and Hart, and one track combining Neruda’s “Ode to the Apple” with spontaneous improvisation from Newell and Holden). While Newell may be the only “vocalist,” all four “instruments” are direct extensions of the artists’ souls, and each “sings” with glorious tone and color, each a unique voice contributing to a seamlessly assembled union.

Steve Blons © Andrea Canter

Without drum or bass, guitarist Steve Blons often provides the structure and drive of both. At time he quietly directs from the back seat with swinging chord combinations —note his introduction to “It Never Entered My Mind” or his strong undercurrent on “Yes We’ve Met.” And often it’s his articulate finger picking that counters horn or piano (“My Romance”) or steers his own inventive variations (“I Didn’t Know What Time It Was”, “Thou Swell”). The other pulse is provided by Laura Caviani, whose piano creates the instrumental equivalent of scat with clean lines and swinging harmonies that often blend invisibly into Blons’ guitar. Her improvised passages are richly textured and rhythmically complex throughout; on “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” her shifting rhythms give this track an almost samba flavor. Even when the feel is classic swing, her inventive phrases provide new energy (“My Romance,” “Yes We’ve Met,” “Where or When,” “Thou Swell”). Altoist Brad Holden creates the illusion of a second vocalist--or on some tracks, the only vocalist. With a tonal edge rounded with sweet fruit, he alternately carries the melody or drops phrases and notes in accompaniment that are always complementary, not competitive (e.g. “My Romance”). He has a touch of old-fashioned swing (“I Didn’t Know What Time It Was”, “Where or When” “Thou Swell”), and as a balladeer (“It Never Entered My Mind”), offers a tone of rare preserves and dark brandy.

Lucia Newell © Andrea Canter

As reader or singer, Lucia Newell is a magnificent interpreter who communicates through intonation, phrasing, faultless diction (in two languages) and a husky contralto. Despite an occasional strained note on “I Could Write a Book” (the side effect of a lingering cold), her contribution to the overall success of this recording is central. She sings a capella with the same expressive ease as she reads Neruda—in English or Spanish. Listen to her reading of the delightful “Ode to the Cat” and you’ll hear the same phrasing as on her vocals. Spoken or sung, Newell’s words tell stories as much from the sound and feel of the words as from their meaning, particularly notable in her reading in Spanish of “Love Sonnet XVII,” a perfect lead-in to “My Romance,” even if, like me, the listener doesn’t understand a word of Neruda’s text. The spirit is nevertheless clear.

Brad Holden © Andrea Canter

Soul Café, the amalgam of four incredible talents, is above all a collaborative effort in which any one performer can take the lead and pass it on, shifting the source of improvisation from solo to duo to trio. “In a way we’re just carrying on the early tradition of ensemble improvisation featured in New Orleans style jazz,” says Blons. Their extension of this tradition is highlighted here by their instrumental counterpoint on “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” and “My Romance”; the duet between Blons and Holden on “It Never Entered My Mind” where they trade melodic responsibilities; and the harmonic interplay on “Yes We’ve Met.” Newell and Holden engage in a luscious spontaneously improvised duet on “Ode to the Apple” where only the words are pre-determined, their notes spiked with devilish humor and dissonant harmonies, and even a final bite of the fruit. Many tracks benefit from joyous pacing, “Where or When” taken at a faster-than-usual clip and the finale “Thou Swell” showing off the trio’s interaction at its most playful.

Most riveting, and most downbeat, is a wrenching duet of voice and piano on “Spring Is Here.” Reminiscent of the great partnership of Fred Hersch and Norma Winstone, Laura weaves a tingling, chilling, mildly dissonant mesh while Lucia turns her heart inside out, filling the air with the emptiness and despair the lyrics demand.

The Poetry of Jazz further is, of course, a collaboration of two art forms. The pairings of text and music do justice to both—“Ode to Joy”/ “I Could Write a Book”; “When I Die/Spring is Here;” “Other Days Will Come…”/ “Thou Swell,” the latter pair a welcome closing with a sense of joy and hope. Overall, through Soul Café a unifying spirit emerges, in sum a reveling in the joys (and pains) of living and loving, what Rogers and Hart do best, just like Soul Café. Soul Café—Thou Swell!

You can find The Poetry of Jazz at the Electric Fetus or contact Steve Blons at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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