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Album Details

• Artist: Kenneth Patchen
• Album: Reads With Jazz
• Label: Locust Music
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2006-03-15

Ken Patchen is one of America's greatest poets, whose relative anonymity and total absence from the Academy is one of our greatest national shames. Patchen fearlessly explored language and painting with little hope for financial gain; he was one of the last true starving artists, risking real poverty for the right to speak his mind uncensored. That he has been ignored by every major college Literature program, and only mentioned with condescension, may have something to do with his themes: personal freedom, speaking truth to power, defending the working man and celebrating the intellect of the common man. He was also a pioneer in wedding music and sound. This set by Locust, a reissue of a Folkways recording, is a godsend. While many of Patchen's readings with jazz are available, aside from Beat comps they are hard to track down. That makes this an essential buy. His playful, yet powerful lines are perfect for the hard, sharp lines of Bop, and are generally more successful than those of Kerouac or Ginsberg, which always seem added on or competing with the band. Patchen truly listens to the Al Neil Band as he reads, and tries to integrate his voice as another instrument. The result is both moving and daring, and proof that this can be done right.

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