In
the spring of 1958, just a few weeks after cutting Poetry for the Beat
Generation, producer Bob Thiele suggested making a second album -- quite a
daring notion, considering that the first album would prove so controversial
that it wouldn't reach the public for a year -- and Jack Kerouac agreed.
Instead of pianist Steve Allen, however, Kerouac insisted that he be
accompanied this time by two good friends, tenor saxmen Al Cohn and Zoot Sims.
With Cohn doubling on piano, the resulting Blues and Haikus is a stunning duet
between speaker and saxmen, working spontaneously in this peculiar mix of jazz
and voice, in which the saxmen do get their solo spots around Kerouac's work.
There's much more of a sense on this album of a conscious interaction here
between Kerouac and his accompanists, and the album is more arch but also more
intense and more imposing than its predecessor.
Review
by Bruce Elder
http://www.allmusic.com/album/blues-and-haikus-r702179
1. American Haiduk
2. Hard Hearted Old Farmer
3. The last Hotel & Some Of Dharma
4. Poems from The unpublished "Book Of Blues"
5. Old Western Movies
6. Conclusion Of The Railroad Earth
Jack Kerouac (v) Al Cohn (ts, p) Zoot Sims (ts)
FLAC
