Mile High Jazz Band presents 'Running Out' virtual jazz and poetry
The Mile High Jazz Band Association recently produced a video, "Virtual Jazz & Poetry: Running Out." The video contains six short acts, each consisting of the reading of a poem and the performance of a related piece of music.
A link to the video can be found on the website MileHighJazz.com. On March 10, 2020, Mile High Jazz Band performed a live Jazz & Poetry event at Comma Coffee in Carson City on the theme, "Fate & Fortune."
Little did they know that five days later the band's own fate was to be put in a lockdown for an undetermined period. Faced with this predicament and not able to perform live, they decided to create a Virtual Jazz & Poetry video in lieu of the Jazz & Poetry event originally scheduled for June 9, 2020.
Several poets, given the theme “Running Out,” wrote or selected appropriate poems to read, and band members recorded tunes related to the poems.
The video is a compilation of these efforts. Featured poet/readers are “Poet Wrangler” Rita Geil, Lori Bagwell, Wayne Carlson, Ross Cooper, Krista Lukas, Tom Miller, Susan Sara Priest, Timothy Rhodes, and Amy Roby. Musicians are Jakki Ford, vocal; Frank Iannetta, bass; Bob Souter, trumpet; Jake Xie, sax; Liz Eubanks, vocal and guitar; Derek Fong, sax and keyboard; and the Dodge Trio: Brenda Dodge, vocal; Kelly Dodge, bass; and Brandon Dodge, drums.
Band leader and producer David Bugli said, “During the Coronavirus pandemic, the band is also developing a virtual big-band presentation of a golden oldie tune from the big band era. Be on the lookout for that, too.”
Mile High Jazz Band performances are funded, in part, by a grant from the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, and by private donations. For more information, call 775-883-4154, or visit MileHighJazz.com.
In the Photo: Rita Geil (center) and other poet/readers read a poem by Carl Sandburg, captured in a Zoom conference call, part of "Virtual Jazz & Poetry: Running Out." Left to right, top: Amy Roby, David Bugli, Krista Lukas. Middle: Tom Miller, Rita Geil, Ross Cooper. Bottom: Lori Bagwell.
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