On Listening to Coleman Hawkins


ON LISTENING TO COLEMAN HAWKINS

some think our ears
radiant fetuses

driving their tiny cars
on either side of the head

how do we know magnificence?

the disco ball of the heart
a mosaic of shiny blood
that’s there and then not



(text from: The Porcupinity of the Stars (Coach House, 2010)
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Comments

md said…
Yeah, that's Hawkins for sure.
10:18 PM
gary barwin said…
Thanks, Mark. And thanks for dropping by.

I've always loved the palpability, the physical presence of Hawkins' sound. Coltrane has a beautiful sound, but to me, it is more an idea, not the sensual tactility of early players like Hawkins, or Webster. There's also something deeply synaesthetic about this experience. You're hearing touch. You're touching hearing.
12:32 PM
M.D. Dunn said…
I'm not familiar with Webster, but have often marveled at the tactility of hearing and the mediation of sound by the air. It's a beautiful thing going on here...
8:28 PM
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