Cascadia Poetics LAB logo

PAUL E NELSON

Earshot Jazz is in full swing, no pun intended. Seattle’s long-running annual festival is an orgy for the ears and soul and I missed most of the Thelonious Monk @ 100 events, which is a shame, but poetry festivals do take a lot of my energy.

Bhakti and I were able to get to a show Sunday night. I surprised her by taking her to the Seattle Art Museum for a performance of two master musicians, one from Mali, one from France and we were spellbound.  The Easrshot website said: “The hugely satisfying duo of Malian kora master Ballaké Sissoko and French cellist Vincent Segal creates a spellbinding hybrid that draws on West African traditional songs, Baroque music, and contemporary sensibilities.” What a treasure this festival is and how it enriches our cultural life in this city.