The Strange Hours Travelers Keep by August Kleinzahler

Author:August Kleinzahler
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466880771
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

A HISTORY OF WESTERN MUSIC: CHAPTER 13

The large black man is dancing

He is dancing in his head

On the stage of the Salle Pleyel

And the Parisians are watching

As he takes one step to the left

But, look, his foot is not touching

The ground, as if it’s too hot

Or cold, or not to be found there at all

Then slamming it down

And spinning round

Like a drunk in his funny hat

The large black man is dancing

On the stage of the Salle Pleyel

He has gotten up from the piano

And begun his silly dance

Lurching, first one way, then …

Wait, he is changing his mind

Frozen there in space, on just one leg

His drummer and bass, Pierre,

That is, and Claude, puzzling through

What he has left behind

Soldiering on, regardless

Wondering where they misplaced the time

On the stage of the Salle Pleyel

The large black man is dancing

Dancing in his head

On the stage of the Salle Pleyel

And hundreds of French are watching him

Twitch or swat

Away an imaginary chord in order to make room

For the next, with a pirouette

Courtly as a maitre d’ on roller skates

The large black man, the large

Black man is dancing

And the Parisians are watching

Nervously. But the drummer, Pierre

That is, and Claude on bass

Are beginning to get it

They are watching the black man’s dance

And think they’ve found it

Relax, mes chers

We are nearing the end of the tune

The black, black man is dancing

Dancing in his head

On the stage of the grand théâtre

And the lovers of jazz are there

They are out there in force

Watching the black man from America

Watching the black man dance

It is 1954

And the tune is “Trinkle, Tinkle”

What are they to do

What to make

Of the black man up there dancing

Is he fou

Does he not know where he is or who

Is in the audience watching

There is the editor of Jazz Hot

Section C, Aisle 12, Seat #2

He will be confused, no

Is he being made the fool

What are they all to do

Pierre and Claude, the drummer,

That is, and the contrabass

They think: O.K., I’ve got it

Where the accents drop

Where not

And those very weird spaces between

(Ha, ha, ha, but not really)

The large black man

In his coat and his tie

And the funny little hat

And crazy grin

The large black man is

Dancing

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