POSTED BY SHANNON WEBB-CAMPBELL
Curating a Jazz Festival can be an incredible opportunity to showcase a plethora of artists from an array of genres. The melding of music is inherent to jazz. Presented by Word On The Street, local poet and performer Shauntay Grant's Wordrhythm fuses spoken word, melody and heart. Her collection of guest performers at last night's Company House show saw spoken word artist N'neka Loren, vocalists Suzy Hanson, Naomi-Joy Blackhall Butler, pianist Silvio Pupo, bassist Jamie Gatti and drummer Jonathan Smith.
Wordrhythm's lyrical approach,combines the personal and political with punch and panache. The juxtaposition of sweet jazz, poetics and varied perspectives left no stone unturned. From rape to yeast infections, these poets are ferociously fearless. Their cocktail of colloquialisms, style and rendition of Nina Simone's Four Women brought the house down. Grant's own “Be The Change,” inspired by one of her students in a poetry class, showcased a writer of skill and warmth. Later in the eve they opened up the stage with a somewhat open mic approach, giving the poet's in the audience a chance to say what's on their mind.
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