JPC In the News

Local organizer promotes 'Jazz Poetry' regionally

By JIM LAWRENCE
info@staffordcountysun.com

STAFFORD - When Phillip Gregory was told that Fredericksburg and Stafford were "too country" for live poetry, he responded, "I disagree and I'm going to show you I disagree."

Gregory has organized and hosted live poetry events in Fredericksburg, Stafford, and at present, in Alexandria.

"I started in 2002 at the now defunct Shark's Club in Fredericksburg, then to the 623 Bistro in Fredericksburg, and then Dining on the Knoll in Stafford," he said.

The Shark Club has since gone out of business. The 623 Bistro wanted a monthly event whereas Gregory preferred a weekly one. He found it at Caribbean Delight.

This successful venue boasted of accommodating "85 people standing and sharing tables," Gregory said. The event drew from the immediate community and found that students from Northern Virginia Community College were interested as they no longer had to drive into Washington, D.C., to participate.

At present, he is hosting Jazz Poetry Café at Zig's Bar and Grill, Alexandria, which he stated is gaining a very strong following. This includes Prodigal Son, a jazz and R & B band that accompanies poets. Café events vary.

An open-mike session is a venue that attracts amateurs who merely wish to read their poetry and have it heard in front of a live audience. An event featuring poets who have risen into a professional level requires some revenue, as musicians and poets need to be compensated. A "poetry slam" is a competition in which poets are judged on a point system by a panel.

Jazz poetry is defined by the music that goes with the poetry. Live or recorded music is used to accompany the poet. As for the poetry itself, there are no limitations as to what style a poet may use.

Gregory stated that the Jazz Poetry Café's band is "so attuned to what's happening they find the right music to play with the poetry." Due to the success of his Web site, www.jazzpoetrycafe.net, Gregory will host a poetry slam on April 6 at 8 p.m., coordinated with FX's television network presentation of "Redemption." The production is the story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, cofounder of the infamous Crips street gang and stars Jamie Foxx. It is the story of how Williams' time in jail inspired him to "pen numerous books and institute programs that steer inner-city youth away from violence." His work earned him nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize and Nobel Prize for Literature.. "The network looked for Web sites and mine kept coming up in the top three."

His TV show "Poet's Drum" is broadcast on Comcast and Cox Cable. It was previously broadcast on Adelphia.

He has used the genre as a public service project at Mary Washington College by charging admission of one can of food. The proceeds went to The Haven, a local shelter for battered women.

He is hoping to once again bring a venue to the local area. One idea is to start one at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library for local high school students only, making it a separate entity from Jazz Poetry Cafe.