Trumpeter Freddie Hendrix already has a lifetime worth of accomplishments with five albums as a sideman for George Benson, Bradford Hayes, Melvin Davis, New Jersey City University Jazz Ensemble, and most recently Rufus Reid. In this video, Hendrix shares his thoughts of City of Asylum/ Pittsburgh’s 2010 Jazz Poetry Concert.
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This video features Trumpeter Eddie Allen. Known for his versatility, Eddie Allen participated in the 2010 Jazz Poetry Concert. He is also the founder of Sãlongo, a 7-piece band that brings together Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music to create a fresh and inventive sound.
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In this video, Saxophonist Bruce Williams, member of Olive Lake’s 17-piece band and participant in City of Asylum Pittsburgh’s 2010 Jazz Poetry Concert, explains his views on a jazz ensemble.
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The poet Terrance Hayes is “bringing the National Book Award home to Pittsburgh,” as he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Hayes’ Lighthead beat out the works of four other poets, including established writers such as C.D. Wright. Watch Hayes read at the 2010 Jazz Poetry Concert and read Sampsonia Way’s interview with the author.
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Saxophonist and Trombone player Alfred Patterson moves just as easily between musical styles: he was a member of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, toured with the American Ballet Company, played in the pit orchestras for musicals such as “Dreamgirls” and “La Cage Aux Folles,” and jammed with the Count Basie and Duke Ellington Orchestras. In this video, Patterson discusses sound, poetry, and the nature of improvisation.
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Writer, musician and radio producer Hinemoana Baker reflects on her experience of the 2010 Jazz Poetry Concert.
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Poet Yusef Komunyakaa on the 2010 Jazz Poetry Concert.
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For the Iraqi translator and poet Soheil Najm, poetry offers an opportunity to start a conversation across cultural barriers. Najm is the co-editor of Flowers of Flame: Unheard Voices of Iraq, an anthology of Iraqi poets in translation. He has also translated selections of work by Nikos Kazantzakis, Alasdair Gray, Ted Hughes, and Jose Saramago. Soheil Najm presents Ra’ad Zamil’s poem, offering a glimpse into the struggles of a generation of Iraqis who have survived Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship and are trying to make a life in Iraqi’s nascent democracy.
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Irakli Kakabadze was the writer-in-residence at the Ithaca City of Asylum for the past two years. Hailing from the Caucasus nation of Georgia, Kakabadze suffered persecution at the hands of the government because of the opinions he expressed through his writings and protesting. We corresponded with Kakabadze via email to see what project he is currently working on and to learn about his experiences with City of Asylum.
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Sampsonia Way —a narrow alley on the North Side of Pittsburgh—has become a bustling avenue traversed by writers from all over the world. Croatia, Cuba, Macedonia—just to mention a few—have been represented here.
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Sampsonia Way's companion guide to City of Asylum’s Exiled Voice of China and Tibet literary event, featuring standout pieces from its three year coverage of exiled and persecuted writers. READ
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