Wow, here’s one project that has to be checked… following on from a radical all star performance at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of a cancer charity,  Gearbox Records has anounced the release of the ‘All Star Jazz Poetry SuperJams’ featuring Michael Horovitz, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Paul Weller … it’s on vinyl – 3 the hard way – and it’s released on Record Store Day 20th April 2013.

OK, first up comes the album ‘Blues For The Hitchhiking Dead’ which delivers a radical collection of early Sixties,  CND/Ban The Bomb era experimentalism that united two of the finest performance poets of the day with the sounds of  jazz.

It was back on 12th March, 1962 that The Live New Departures Jazz Poetry Septet – performed a seminal gig at the SCR Students’ Building on the Southampton University Campus.  The Septet featured amongst others, the very fine Stan Tracey on piano and saxophonist Bobby Wellins alongside poets Michael Horovitz and Pete Brown. Today Michael is still regarded as Britain’s Beat Laureate while Pete Brown achieved global recognition via the lyrics he penned for Cream.  The session ranged over post-bop jazz, straight ahead poetry, sound poetry, solo and exchange jazz-poetry, as well as a dynamic rendition of the Septet’s most ambitious piece  ‘Blues For The Hitchhiking Dead’.

The magical events of that night were captured on a reel-to-reel tape recorder by the artists’ friend Victor Schonfield. So, lucky people, to celebrate Record Store Day Geerbox records  are poised to release – for the first time ever – as an individually numbered box set containing two 180gm 12” vinyl LPs and a deluxe cornucopian booklet containing photos, reminiscences, reviews, essays and memorabilia.

Listening to the ‘Blues…’ again, the first thing that hits me is the fear,” says Pete Brown of the original recording. “This was the most dangerous known period in history for a potential nuclear war, and we really felt it. The next thing is a strange mixture of innocence and wisdom. Being very young, we had the innocence, but where we got the wisdom from beats me. A clue might be that some of the echoes are strangely biblical – not quite so strange when you take into account Mike’s Hasidic background and my Jewish grammar school semi-education.

“The poem comes across now as a kind of tour of real historical and imaginary Britain in the shadow and blast of the Bomb,” Pete continues. And of the music he adds, “A lot of the writing techniques are driven by jazz and our love of it, and certainly during the shorter “chase” choruses there is improvisation even between Mike and myself. In those bad days of primitive sound systems (particularly hazardous for jazz and poetry) we really were listening to each other. Musically there is enormous sympathy between the musicians and in support of the poets. The musical atmospheres created surround the words and complement the emotions.”

In conclusion Pete issues  a cautionary word of warning, “This may be a piece of history, an antique even, but it still has a lot to say. And we are by no means out of trouble yet.”

From the ancient to the future…. Gearbox Records is also poised to present a brand new collaboration via  a 7″ single  Ballade Of The Nocturnal Commune / Extra Time Meltdown (Jazz Poetry SuperJam #2) and a 12” LP on heavy 180gm vinyl entitled ‘Bankbusted Nuclear Detergent Blues (Jazz Poetry SuperJam #3)’.

Half a century on from the beginnings of his public & jazz poetry mission with ‘Blues For The Hitchhiking Dead’ et al, Michael Horovitz remains as active and inspirational as ever, composing & performing new poetry, songs & music, publishing New Departures anthologies and staging multimedia events. So, it’s brilliant to hear him united, on these brand new recordings, with Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Paul Weller.