Contemporary jazz with poetry

9 MP3 Songs
SPOKEN WORD: With Music, JAZZ: Modern Creative Jazz

Details:
The Word-Music Continuum
a unique performance ensemble uniting music & spoken word
Kirk Lumpkin â poetry & percussion,
Paul Mills â guitar, Mark Randall â bass

Sound Poems is the new CD by The Word-Music Continuum. After their self-titled first release in 1998 they performed at festivals, art centers, clubs, cafes, and bookstores around Northern California including the North Beach Festival, Lord Buckley Festival, Telegraph Avenue Book Fair, Venue 9, Mills College, Above Paradise, Codyâs Books, Copperfieldâs, etc. The group then went on a performance hiatus, that was much longer than expected, to record Sound Poems.

âTo say the house was rocked is an understatement. You were great! You showed us that the blend of word and music is limitless and that poetry has no bounds.ââWilliam S. Gainer of the Nevada County Poetry Series

ââ¦powerfully performed⦠stunning performanceâ¦â
âYou knocked us outâ¦wonderful spiritual fusion of words/music!!!â
âJesse Beagle, poetry host, poet, songwriter

âKirk Lumpkin has been an important part of the Bay Area (and beyond) poetry scene for years, hosting readings in San Francisco and Berkeley, helping to facilitate the Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival [with Poetry Flash & former U.S. Poet Laureate, Robert Hass], and hosting open mikes at Burning Man.ââBay Area Poets Seasonal Review
The author of two books of poetry, In Deep and Co-Hearing, his poems have appeared in many magazines & anthologies. As a solo poet heâs performed all around the San Francisco Bay Area & Northern California; Los Angeles (Beyond Baroque, etc.); New York City (Bowery Poetry Club); Colorado; Toronto, Canada; and Great Britain. He formerly hosted the San Francisco Bay Guardian winner for âBest Spoken Word Open Mic.â and was a pirate radio DJ. He recently released an album of original rock songs, Moondog Sessions, and is a vocalist with the Wild Buds. He was a finalist in the UNISONG International Song Contest and received an Honorable Mention in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Heâs on the Board of PEN Oakland. He works for the Ecology Center as the Special Events & Promotions Coordinator of the Berkeley Farmersâ Markets.

"I'm deeply honored to have your poem for me [Walking in the Woods with a Poet] in a book [In Deep] with so many other wonderful poems. ...it's such a solid real illumination...ââMichael McClure, Beat poet & playwright

âKirk is a shaman.â âFrank Moore, Internet radio host & performance artist

Paul Mills is a guitarist, composer, and producer. As a member of The Word-Music Continuum he contributes original music with Mark Randall and produced the groupâs self-titled first album. He also plays guitar with Jazz Sabbath, a jazz-rock fusion band specializing in guitar-driven improvisations and the Mills Ensemble, a contemporary folk group.

Mark Randall is a versatile electric bass player that has recorded and performed with a wide array of rock, funk, jazz, blues, and fusion bands. He has studied at both the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the Jazzschool in Berkeley. He currently plays with the Wild Buds.

Kirk, Paul, and Mark were all formerly in the San Francisco Bay Guardian âDemo Tape Oâ The Weekâ winning band, DETOUR (alternative rock-jazz).

Contact: (415) 474-6159, Kirk@KirkLumpkin.com, www.KirkLumpkin.com

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