Every July, my hometown The Hague would light up. Not just with beachgoers, but also with the energy of jazz. The second weekend of the month was the North Sea Jazz festival, one of the biggest jazz festivals of Europe that would have the stages packed with artists like Dizzy Gilespie, Cab Calloway, Miles Davis, BB King, James Brown, and much, much, much more. Big name global artists, but also local legends like Candy Dulfer, or the jazz band of the local music school, featuring one of my class-mates. I've been multiple times and saw so much. Like legendary drummer Art Blakey, who was at time time of such an age, that he had to be helped when walking the stage to his drum kit. But once seated, he played with a stark resemblance to Animal from the muppet show.
North Sea Jazz was a vibe. One that stayed with me, even when both the festival and I moved away from my hometown, and I never went anymore. The vibe sticks.
Somewhere else in Europe, there's another yearly Jazz Festival, that is very much like North Sea Jazz, and would often have the same artists performing: the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. This is the festival home of the poet known as wordstobepoetry. Who is also a talented music journalist and this month our poet of the month.
If you want a real taste of that vibe I described above, you should check out the | wordstobemusic | Vol.III. You will even learn a cool fact about a smoky pop song. In her unique magazine, she writes about the Montreux Jazz festival, and other festivals she has attended. She writes about the artists, about what the vibe can do to you, and she combines that with the poetry the performances inspire in her. It's a unique project, that I'm sure you will enjoy as well. Check it out here:
For this issue of the your weekly poetry shot | wordstobepoetry | crafted the NFT || fake smiles || which you can see (and mint) at the top of this issue. It is airdropped to the subscribers of my hypersub.
Help me to bring you fresh poetry every week by susupporting me through Hypersub. Get the poetry NFTs airdropped, enter a monthly poetry postcard raffle and help decide who gets a piece of the trpplffct poetry grant pie.
Poésie de la vie
This video seems quite the great capture of that vibe at Montreux Jazz.
