At The Queen Zed, singers sang to ice-bucket percussion, while punters sipped Sansom’s beer under an eleven-foot missile dangling from the ceiling. In between pints, one of the regulars nipped up and down a stepladder in front of the entrance doors, to poke at the fire alarm, adding a circus edge to the evening. Adding vexed barking every time there was applause, was a small but feisty dog, who patrolled the pub until retiring upstairs to bed at about 9:00. Trombone poetry offered a new foundling poem, Probably Not, and a piece called I Remember Doing Jazz Gigs Down The Road In The Plough Back In The Old Days. Later on, a man with a poodle arrived, just in time for a spoken word diatribe against Government policy that was momentarily accompanied by another open-miker absent-mindedly tooting a mouth organ. Twenty minutes later, a man with a dachshund arrived, as a singer lurched into karaoke mode. At first, peering at the stage, the hound stuck his nose up. When he spotted the poodle, though, he decided to help the song along. Fun for all the family, at The Dog & Stepladder.

The Jerico Orchestra projected its improvisations at projected slides for the denizens of The George Tavern. An over-refreshed bar-fly, slightly less articulate and sociable than that dachshund, grumbled at the candle-lit trombone poetry offering, to no avail. Fun for all the family, at The Drunk & Slide Projector.

The teasingly-named Keen/Osgerby Trio lured trombone poetry to Leytonstone for a joint gig at Luna Lounge. This is a band well worth seeking out, even beyond Leytonstone cellars. The Lounge is worth a visit too, one wall being covered with LP sleeves, from Scott Joplin to Donna Summer, which may not be unusual, apart from the fact that they still contain the records. Whether this applies to the ones peeling from the ceiling is unknown, but a vinyl frisbee beheading could deter punters. Fun for all the family, at The Duck & Guillotine.

trombone poetry

SANDINOS

Water Street
Derry
BT48 6BQ

free admission

trombone poetry + open mic

A SPOONFUL OF POISON

The Stag’s Head
55 Orsman Road
Hoxton
London
N1 5RA

free admission

trombone poetry + sundry turns

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Green Dragon
58-60 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1NA

free admission

trombone poetry + even more sundry turns

THE CAMBRIA

40 Kemerton Road
London
SE5 9AR

trombone poetry + Tamara Stein

FITZROY SQUARE

London
W1T

they say that
they explore counter-hegemonic
transnational networks
global voices
and cartographic practices
that map the abyssal line
between epistemologies
of the North and the South

they say that
Northern epistemologies
draw abyssal lines
between zones of being
and zones of non-being

they don’t say
what’s in the abyss

they don’t seem sure
whether the abyssal lines
are there to be mapped
or are just being drawn

they say that
Northern epistemologies
are committing epistemicide

they don’t say
whether this is achieved
by bundling
laid-back
Southern epistemologies
into the abyss

they say that
Northern epistemologies
are wasting social experience
on a massive scale

as they peer
into the abyss
do they contemplate the blackness
of pots and kettles?

they say that
mapping the lines
is a search for absent beings

they don’t say
how these will be found
if they’re not present

they say that
knowing otherwise
is also being otherwise

they know better
than to say that

they say that
they discuss knowledge
between the imagination and the imaginary

imagine that

they say that
democracy which functions
in linear time
is illiterate

they recommend
knowing and being
in a post-abyssal way

this may be
how things are
after you have jumped
over an abyssal line

this may be
illiterate

this may be
abysmal

they say that
the understanding of the world
by far exceeds
the Western understanding of the world

they don’t say that
the misunderstanding of the world
by far exceeds
even this

they say that
they shift stagnation
in the folds of the soul

they say that

they say that
through poetics/analytics
they mobilise affect

me too.

© Paul Taylor 2012

At the end of the month, trombone poetry reappeared at The Book Club in Shoreditch, for the unsuspecting fans of Paolo Duarte’s Overground Collective. Large though the band is, they did not outnumber the crowd, and it was a pleasure to recite Vigil Aunty, A Great Deal and other works to the attentive throng, even to that woman with the miserable, glowering stare. The sparkling duo of Rachel Musson and Julie Kjaer then lit up the place, if not the face.

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Friday 20 April 18:00

The ART Pack: trombone poetry + ruM (Mike Walter and Paul Taylor’s free/folk duo) + APE (Grassy Noel, voice, poetry; Paul Shearsmith, pocket trumpet & trombone, fire extinguishers; Mike Walter, saxophones, synth, percussion; Graham MacKeachan, double bass, objects) + free nibbles + topnotch Italian grub

DE SANTIS

11-13 Old Street
London
EC1V 9HL

free admission

020 7689 5577

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Tuesday 24 April 20:00

trombone poetry + open mic, presented by Carl Chamberlain

SING FOR YOUR SUPPER

The Queen’s Head
144 Stockwell Rd
London
SW9 9TQ

free admission

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Wednesday 25 April 20:00

trombone poetry + Jerico Orchestra

THE GEORGE TAVERN

373 Commercial Rd
London
E1 0LA

free admission

020 7790 7335

http://www.facebook.com/jericoorchestra

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Saturday 28 April 12:00 – 02:00 (i.e. noon till 2am)

CANCELLED DUE TO CLOSURE OF PUB!

trombone poetry + sundry turns

THE IVY HOUSE

40 Stuart Road
London
SE15 4BE

020 7358 2778

Fundraising event. Trombone poetry onstage at about 13:00.

ALD Life is a patients’ support group working with patients and families with a diagnosis of Adrenoleukodystrophy – ALD or Adrenomyeloneruropathy – AMN, which are two rare genetic conditions.

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Sunday 29 April 19:00

trombone poetry + Keen/Osgerby Trio

LUNA LOUNGE

7 Church Lane
London
E11 1HG

admission: £5/£3

020 8518 7463

The Blowpipes Trombone Trio returned to Freedom of Expression at The Green Dragon, with the proper crew, for once: Matthew Benson and Raphael Clarkson. The programme featured a traditional Blowpipes sardana, La Zottlana Ziallera, and the premiere performance of Fantasia, a piece written for us by composer Alan Taylor. (Trombone-friendly musicians are always welcome to write more arrangements or compositions for the Trio.) Roshi Nasehi chanted and enchanted, backed by deftly-prodded electronica from Grahame Dowd.

There was also a short-notice invitation to bring trombone poetry to the Turtle Salon, at the Hardy Tree Gallery, across the road from St Pancras Station. Surrounded by small art works imported from Paris, Nick Cash, on DIY percussion, and Grahame Painting, on guitar, accompanied a series of baffling short films partly projected onto their white boiler suits. After an unscheduled duet for trombone and snare-rattle, trombone poetry offered Amazing Things, Pancrasm and An Impressive Display. A turtle coincidentally poked his head out of a poem.

Pete Williams’ album-launch tour was triumphant. Catch up here: http://petewilliamsmusic.com

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Wednesday 28 March 21:00

trombone poetry + The Overground Collective + Rachel Musson / Julie Kjaer duo

THE BOOK CLUB

100 Leonard Street
London EC2A 4RH

http://www.facebook.com/events/197982590310122/

At Lurca’s birthday party “self-indulgent cabaret”, we had a flutter of Hawkwind from Richard Sanderson, the roaring tuba of Oren Marshall, spontaneous trombone poetry compositions such as What The Beetle Had For Breakfast and, girded by a herd, a hurdy-gurdy.

In the secular, beer-selling bit of The Union Chapel, the Upper Hall, Park Road Pilot put on another packed charity-funding arts event, wherein trombone poetry recited Punch, written about a ruined reading at Lurca’s bash, plus a few blues-fuelled inventions. The mellifluous Roshi Nasehi got herself into loops, and someone treated us to spoken chatroom obscenity tedium.

The outnumbered punters at the Vibe Gallery’s poetry open mic were warmed by a sarangi recital, before the poetry was let loose. Nice vibe, shame about the art.

In Stoke Newington’s former snooker hall, The Others, trombone poetry was invited to collaborate again with Paulo Duarte’s illustrious Overground Collective, getting the ball rolling with plunger-mute preludes and poems like Shaky Ground and The Magic Chair. There followed a stunning improvised duet by Rachel Musson and Julie Kjaer before the Collective took over.

The month tumbled to a finish at Freedom of Expression in Croydon, where The ART Pack was ceremonially launched with the swing of a brown ale bottle at the wrong end of The Green Dragon. Paul Shearsmith, wielding a pBone, duelled with this trombone, followed by a burst of trombone poetry, a ration of ruM, and an outcry of APE. That’s ART, that is.

Tweet

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Monday 13 February 19:45

trombone poetry + Richard Tyrone Jones + Katrina Naomi + Bernadette Reed + John Clarke + open mic

TALKING RHYTHM!

The Amersham Arms
388 New Cross Road
London
SE14 6TY

free admission

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Tuesday 14 February 20:00

The Blowpipes Trombone Trio + Roshi Nasehi + open mic

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Green Dragon
58-60 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1NA

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The trombone will be out and about with Pete Williams‘ band this month, to launch the new album, “See”. See:

Monday 20 February

The Lexington
96-98 Pentonville Road
London
N1 9JB

Tuesday 21 February

The Glee Club
The Arcadian Centre
Birmingham
B5 4TD

Tuesday 28 February

The Greystones
Greystones Road
Sheffield
S11 7BS

Wednesday 29 February

The Deaf Institute
135 Grosvenor Street
Manchester
M1 7HE

Another expedition was undertaken to Mycenae House in deepest Greenwich, to lob poems and several original tunes into the flow of jazz standards at the regular Monday night jam, starring Phil Mead on piano and Dave Silk in a threadbare Santa outfit with a double bass made out of chocolate fingers. Humbug.

trombone poetry + Terry Edwards’ Near Jazz Experience + James Smith (DJ Set) + pizza

INDO BAR

133 Whitechapel Road
London E1 1DT

free admission

020 7247 4926

trombone poetry + Roshi Nasehi + Ezat Luba Yomtovian + Josephine Dyer + Somaye + DJ Enri

PARK ROAD PILOT

The Union Chapel (Upper Hall)
Compton Terrace
London N1 2UN

admission: £6

020 7226 1686

Proceeds go to Thinking Development, a partnership of Haitian community groups and a London-based volunteer design team. They are designing a multi-functional and sustainable primary school complex for over 1,200 Haitian girls. The group is also documenting the process in short films so that Haitians can have their voices heard and people everywhere can follow and learn from their work. The design and documentation process is entirely volunteer-run, meaning that all funds go directly into minimal project expenses and the building fund.

trombone poetry + poetry open mic

VIBE GALLERY

100 Clements Road
London SE16 4DG

free admission

trombone poetry + The Overground Collective

THE OTHERS

6-8 Manor Road
Stoke Newington
London
N16 5SA

Sunday 29 January 14:00

The Vintage Tea Dance Orchestra + Sunday roast

SUNDAY LUNCH TONGUE

The Ivy House
40 Stuart Road
London SE15

free admission

Yiddish Twist Orchestra

SNAPSHOTS FESTIVAL

Rich Mix
35-47 Bethnal Green Road
London E1 6LA

free admission

APE (Grassy Noel, voice, poetry; Paul Shearsmith, pocket trumpet & trombone, fire extinguishers; Mike Walter, saxophones, synth, percussion; Graham MacKeachan, double bass, objects)

+ ruM (Mike Walter, Paul Taylor)

+ trombone poetry:

The ART Pack

+ open mic

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Green Dragon
58-60 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1NA

All these chronicles are posted and archived on the site/blog, and there are plans to write a lot more blog posts in the New Year, while keeping the mail-out monthly. Blog entries, in turn, are synch’ed with the Farcebook Page, which you are invited to “like”.

The duo, ruM, unleashed more folk music and free improv in the nether regions of The Green Dragon in Croydon, enhanced by a West Country dialect recitation by Mr Mike Walter. Also on the bill was a Freedom Of Expression favourite, Eddie’s Brother. May his plectrum never wilt.

October’s adventures came to a finale at Scaledown, where trombone poetry brandished a fire-engine-red trombone at the Fitzrovian multitude. Sharing the proceedings were Matt Scott’s Squeezebox Jukebox, the Gipsy guitar stylings of Raymond Shine, and the duo of Mike Adcock and Sylvia Hallett, who wielded a saw, in a friendly way.

fork handles sketch

Out East, Jerico Orchestra kindly made space for a trombone poetry set at the George Tavern, which combined new writings and the old Deptford saga, 100 Lines for the Centurion.

There are rumours of a wee tour next year. Do stay in touch.

Mick Collins Big Band + brief trombone poetry set

H G WELLS CENTRE

St. Mark’s Road
Bromley
BR2 9HG

admission: £6

trombone poetry + standards/originals with jazz rhythm section + open mic

MYCENAE HOUSE

90 Mycenae Road
Blackheath
London
SE3 7SE

admission: £5/£3

www.jazznights.co.uk

The day after, yet further up-river, trombone poetry flew the flag again near London Bridge City Pier for the Thames Festival, courtesy of Southwark Arts Forum. Khadijatou Doney charmed the crowd; trombone poetry baffled them with a new work made from a dismembered Hebrew/English phrase-book.

No sloop was laid on for the voyage to Margate, but trombone poetry found its way to the venerable Theatre Royal for Bubble & Squeak, a cabaret extravaganza in aid of Broadstairs Food Festival. Nigel Burch & The Flea Pit Orchestra set the ball rolling, and trombone poetry weaved in a couple of short sets among The FranTastics, Skip “Little Axe” McDonald, Christine Tobin and a crowd-challenging free-jazz blow-out by Trevor Watts and Veryan Weston. Most of the crew were eventually washed up at the bar of the Walpole Bay Hotel.

ruM + Eddie’s Brother + Chris Parr + Tom Slatter

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The Green Dragon
58-60 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1NA

admission: free

trombone poetry + Matt Scott + Mike Adcock & Sylvia Hallett + Raymond Shine + ?

SCALEDOWN

The King & Queen
1 Foley Street
London
W1W 6DL

admission: free/collection

Brief sub-cultural aside: in a life happily ungoverned by fashion, it was entertaining to learn that one of the performers had deliberately left the price tag dangling from her cardigan, as a fashion gesture. Though this may still be absent-mindedness in some other sense, it is of course hardly as comical as the old half-mast jeans routine, despite the hint of Spike Milligan.

At the Beautiful Days Festival in Devon, ruM began a recital, on the attractively-named Dirty Davey Stage, to passing punters and a village of tents. Once again, Nobby Hall rubbed shoulders with Albert Ayler, and thousands of adoring music-lovers abandoned the main stage en masse, to dance, cheer and swoon at our feet.

By the time trombone poetry appeared on stage later on, the vast crowd had been herded away again by a man with a sheep dog and a pointed stick.

Clapham Common Bandstand: London’s top Latin bands, La Clave and Roberto Pla’s Latin Ensemble play a set each on a glorious Sunday afternoon. But that was then, the early 1990s. In 2010, The Blowpipes Trombone Trio play two sets, for the same individual fees. Go figure.

At The Queen’s Head, a gem of a boozer near Kings Cross, trombone poetry was the guest of the Horseless Headmen, Grahame Painting’s new quartet with Roland Bates, Nick Cash and Ivor Kallin. After the band’s intricately improvised first set, the audience suddenly vanished (even before the trombone was visible, thanks) leaving only a seemingly keen couple to listen to the trombone poetry set, who then played chess instead, with the bloke commentating on it like a barking seal. When the barman had a gentle word, they too promptly left, leaving behind them an abandoned game and the whiff of kippers.

trombone poetry + other poetry

HERMITAGE ORAL HISTORY CAFE

Poetry night at Hermitage, on the Thames. Poets perform work about history, memory, and rivers.

Hermitage Community Moorings
16 Wapping High Street
London
E1W 1NG

vik@hrprojects.org

trombone poetry (at 15:00) + Khadijatou Doney + Slo’burn + Steve Barbe + ?

THAMES FESTIVAL

Southwark Arts Forum stage
Queens Walk
London Bridge City Pier
SE1

trombone poetry + Nigel Burch & The Flea Pit Orchestra + The FranTastics + Skip “Little Axe” McDonald + Christine Tobin + Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston

BUBBLE & SQUEAK

Broadstairs Food Festival

Theatre Royal
Addington Street
Margate
Kent
CT9 1PW

01843 293877
www.theatreroyalmargate.com

admission: £10 advance / £12 door

A confusion of opposites: Holloway open to passing van-loads of athletes, Richmond secretively abandoning a would-be audience downstairs to the oblivious mercies of the bartenders. There was fine poetry to be had, though, for those who could sniff out Sweet Thursday.

In Croydon, the free/folk laboratory known as ruM edged ever nearer to its own specific levity of poise and upset, even without feathered trilbies. This piquant starter preceded the main nosebag: some kind of lunar clipclopera headed for the hems of the Edinburgh Festival. Bring back Mr. Ed.

The Blowpipes Trombone Trio rattled the conservatory of that Bethnal Green gem, the Café Gallery, for a Friday jazz session with added poetry. We hope to be allowed a pizza next time.

They will surely not equal the famed pizzas of Indo.

It was the Dead of Nit. In Whitechapel’s Indo Bar, trombone poetry enjoyed another night of inspirations, inventions and circlish delights, with added skirmishes on a couple of Nitwood numbers.

The Blowpipes ventured into the wilds of Myatt’s Fields to woo the natives with a snippet of Stravinsky and a jam on Blueberry Hill. All this on a proper bandstand: deckchairs, ice cream, sunstroke and so forth.

In somewhat less bucolic Hoxton, trombone poetry joined forces with the Jerico Orchestra, at Charlie Wright’s International Bar. This free-improvising ensemble, featuring such luminaries as saxist Bob Peachey and the well-sprung Adam Bohman, is enjoying a last-Monday residency.

The month was rounded off with a summer fair at St Margaret’s House. All music in the trombone poetry set was accompanied by a young man called Myles, on his first gig, brandishing bells, finger cymbals and an egg shaker. A lovely start to finish with.

trombone poetry + sundry turns

DEAD SPACE FESTIVAL

124 Brick Lane
London
E1 6RL

http://www.facebook.com/DeadSpaceFest

admission: £10

ruM + trombone poetry + umpteen bands

BEAUTIFUL DAYS FESTIVAL

Dirty Davey stage

Escot Park
Nr Fairmile
Devon
EX11 1LU

http://www.beautifuldays.org

The Blowpipes

CLAPHAM COMMON BANDSTAND

http://www.facebook.com/blowpipes

trombone poetry + Neptune is Mars (Grahame Painting, cello; Roland Bates, piano, Nick Cash, drums) + Noel Taylor, Niko Meinhold, Satoko Fukuda, Guillaume Viltard

THE QUEEN’S HEAD

66 Acton St
London
WC1X 9NB