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Joshua Redman on Stage
Corey Weinstein

Bopping in the perfect cube
SFJAZZ soundbox he helped build
Berkeley boy turned tenor sax king
Angular, singular, ecstatic, soaring
Hawks, ravens, the finch, the loon
New York City pigeon flocks swooping

Flashing, turning, spiral fish in a liquid sky

Jaw jutted horn another arm or
Heart, gut or groin pouring motifs and gestures
Muscular in unity, a conductor of self
Master of speed, phrase, drama, joy
Each solo a concerto in the moment

Wholly knowing what he hasn’t yet conceived

Biceps strain a tailored shirt sleeve
Chest barely contained, thrusting arms
Flexed hip kicking out excitement
Dancing in place to his own mod-bop magic
Moving, now a piston, now a scarf in the wind

I’ve watched his brilliance grow
He played me into old age brilliantly.

—
Corey Weinstein is a retired physician and prisoner human rights advocate. He has published two CDs of music largely inspired by the klezmer and Yiddish stage musical traditions, and he wrote and produced a play in song staged in 2016 in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the massacre at Babi Yar. His poetry has been published in Jewish Currents, Vista and Byways, New Verse News, California State Poetry Society, and Forum (City College of San Francisco). He plays clarinet with as many people as he can find.

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