The most celebrated Black poet was the late Langston Hughes, who had a love of music and jazz in particular.  His poems have many references to the music and a certain cadence suitable for performance. For this gig Ralf brings his band of fiends to the 1000 Trades to perform something new for you, with Kirk singing/reciteing some of Hughes words.

Line Up:Ralf DeCambre– guitar,Kirk Richards– voice, Andy Gayle – Sax, Mathieu Keys – piano & Fitzroy Coward – bass

Langston Hughes Poetry example:

‘Note on Commercial Theatre’

You’ve taken my blues and gone —
You sing ’em on Broadway
And you sing ’em in Hollywood Bowl,
And you mixed ’em up with symphonies
And you fixed ’em
So they don’t sound like me.
Yep, you done taken my blues and gone.

You also took my spirituals and gone.
You put me in Macbeth and Carmen Jones
And all kinds of Swing Mikados
And in everything but what’s about me —
But someday somebody’ll
Stand up and talk about me,
And write about me —
Black and beautiful —
And sing about me,
And put on plays about me!
I reckon it’ll be
Me myself!

Yes, it’ll be me.