Jazz Ready: 15 Minutes (more or less) of Unexpected Pleasure.

This is an extended legacy episode with a bonus track of Baomi Butts, who has toured with Dizzy Gillespie and Harry Belafonte, sharing about her life in music. Royal Hartigan on Percussion.

TapRoots will make you want to dance, be grateful and share the love! This premiere is special for Jazz Ready listeners!

Richard W. Horton lives in Springfield, MA.

Nejma Nefertiti brings on the fullness of her power, pure and raw truth. Be ready to feel and be inspired.

Award winning poet and scholar, Lloyd Schwartz, shares a reading of his original work. He is an Academy of American Poets, Poets Laureate Fellow.

Join us as we learn of a remarkable life!

Sit in a cozy chair, put on headphones (if you have them) and take the journey,

From the Bronx to Harlem and around the world - a poet who works to make the world better for us all.

La Sirena Magdalena just lets it flow. One take. One breath.

Maine Elder and Scholar in the House!

Episodio en español. No se lo pierdan y compartan el link! Hip-Hop de sonido muy original.

Some staycation beauty!

Jean visits us from Maine, where she lives with her family.

Dedicado a E y A y todos los abecedarios del mundo.

Genesis Fermin shares an intimate moment and a cut from their new album that will lift your heart!

A recent graduate of Clarke University, Rashaud helps us close out Mental Health Awareness Month, with some wise advice.

I dedicate this episode the the people of Palestine and all who walk in solidarity beside them.

Diana is also a Sound Designer; Filmmaker and Educator. 

You've seen Anja Lee on television and stage. Experience her creative spirit up close and personal.

Check out two cuts from their new album: SACRED PLACES. After you give a listen here, give a view to their videos!

Nina joins us once again - Jazz Ready listeners, we heard you!

Attack Bear Press in the House!

Duende y Machete! The Revolutionary A Team Here for Our Jazz Ready Global Community. Bilingüal Episode.

A first listen for our global Jazz Ready Community!

If you identify as a woman then you ARE a woman, so YES this is for you.

A great way to celebrate Spring and all new creations and re-creations. Reclaiming being alive! 

So much to learn when we choose to truly see.

Feel the joy and spirit of the music and the people!

Honoring those who have died at the brutal hand of revisionist history and hate crimes.

Poetry, Music and a Chance to Dance into a New Day and the Next 100 Episodes!

A Double Header! 

Some history just got made.

George is now one of our Jazz Ready regulars and we are always happy to have him return.

Beverly Naidus and Dr. Bob Spivey, have been practicing/imaginative/innovative artists and activists for decades and still going strong!

An intimate moment.

Constanza Reyes Bricio reads her original work.

"May we re-center our spirits and feed our souls to keep our joy of living." NHO

Nina Lydia Olff is the author of the poetry collection: Many Tribes, Many Nations. Sea Venture Press. Wellesley, MA.

Rashaud Colbert is from Chicago. Illinois and will be graduating from Clarke University on May 15th, 2021.

Award winning Hip-Hop artist SoSoon had been introduced to Jazz Ready by another JR artist, Galen Passen (Episode 68)

Noelle comes to us referred by Jazz Ready Angel, Dr. Luis Marentes.

Jazz Ready welcomes Citlalli Berruecos. Journalist. Storyteller. Professor. Spanish Language Episode.

16 year-old Bridget Loudon premieres a new song on Jazz Ready!  

We want to hear from you. To encourage comes from the French that means "to give another heart." Will you share your heart with us?  And no, we are not asking for money.

Taylor Ho Bynum, in my estimation, is a living jazz legend, as well as being a teacher and writer for such publications as the New Yorker, Point of Departure, and Sound American.

Featuring Yaya on vocals. John Corda on Keys.

Listen with closed eyes or gently blindfolded; don't just listen, enter the music, as together we step into 2021. We will make it through and we will thrive together.

Nina, is an artist in everything she does - from her paintings, photographs, hand painted shirts and so much more - and she is a formidable poet.

Dr. Leo Hwang is currently working at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Tune in to learn more about him.

Putting the Revolution Back into Christmas! You Will Hear It Here First!!

Catch this energy and let it carry you into your power in 2021!!

George has seen the world - and now he looks into the greater universe.

When many hear the classic song, "Cat's In The Cradle" they think of Harry Chapin. The lyrics to this Gold Record were written by his wife, Sandy Chapin. Learn more about her in this episode of Jazz Ready!

"...for the first nine years of my life I never saw the stars." -from "Practicing for Love"

Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī, known by his pen name Hafez and as "Hafiz", was a Persian poet, whose works are regarded by many Iranians as the height of Persian literature. 

Creative collaborators: Flight or Visibility; Surefire Cure; Natan Wythe; Kaitlin Crull; Nicole Pompei; Otto Klammer; Cameron Seymour-Hawkins; Guadalupe Campos.

Dina joins us again with her most recent work. 

To live and be in the "just beyond."

Award winning author, Shanta Lee Gander reads from her original work.

For women and mature girls only.  Recommend for ages 16 and older.

Nina's work has been read on Jazz Ready before; this time you'll be hearing it in her own inimitable poet's voice. Stark. Raw. Real. 

George Goodwin is back! 

Un cuento de una experiencia verdadera de lo que es cruzar (la maldita) frontera. Tambien, cuentitos verdaderos que tienen que ver con el Día de los Muertos.

Written after the devastating earthquake of 2010 in Ayiti (Haiti) and the U.S. response. To not forget is different from remembering. I refuse to forget.

Join us to welcome a new member of our Jazz Ready global community. Arts. Love. & Resistance.

Honoring Indigenous Peoples Day.

We welcome Anaís and all of their colleagues performing a brand new release for our Jazz Ready global community!

Cornelius Eady is a beloved member of our Jazz Ready global community who always makes time for us!

Lau Malaver joins us from the University of Colorado, Boulder. If you wish to learn more about Lau, visit: www.colorado.edu/ethnicstudies/people/grad-students/laura-malaver

Learn about María Luisa's handbook for Middle School Students! She reads for us in Spanish and English. You can also hear her on Jazz Ready Episodes: 25; 83; 115; 160  

You can make this happen for someone you love. No cost,  just a bit of your time

La Niña de los Peines is considered the greatest mujerota flamenco singer of the 20th Century.

Our mysterious guest from episode 154 is back! Come learn a little more about a very interesting life. 

Rethabile Masilo visits us again with a poem that reminds us of our shared humanity. Please visit him on his first visit with Jazz Ready, Episode 130.

No holding back grief. No holding back rage. No holding back love.

Goodwin turns one of his poems into prose for Jazz Ready Listeners.

Jacobs shares poems from her project with frontline healthcare workers entitled "Shifts."

Afghanistan in the House! Yusuf "Yoshi" Misdaq reminds us that love, joy, and beauty can emerge even in times of horror. He shares a cut from his new album released today and a story from a recent trip to his homeland, Afghanistan, and how it influenced the music.

Kenisha Coy Keeps it Real. An organization that offers tools for survivors of violence and trauma. 

Cornelius Eady is joined by musicians Charlie Rauh and Lisa Liu.

This episode is in Spanish. I encourage non-Spanish speakers to listen and feel how the body and mind open when embracing the unfamiliar.

This episode is all in Spanish. All welcome. Some of my best life moments come from listening to the musicality of languages unknown to me.

Nancy Mercado share two of her poems.

After you listen to Beverly Naidus I hope you will consider writing your own sensory liberation poem. 

Peggy, an award winning poet, performs an original work for us.

Diego reads two of is poems from the anthology, "BULLYING: Rebuttals, Confessions, and Catharsis." Co-edited by María Luisa Arroyo and Magdalena Gómez. Skyhorse Publishing, NYC, 2012. Multicultural. Intergenerational, and multi-genre.

Dr. Roger N. Buckley shared his final public reading with our global audience. Respected, admired and beloved by countless people. His Legacy will endure.

New work debut.

Living history here, in memories and music, from one of the world's most respected musicians, who you might be hearing for the first time. This episode is part of the education we can give ourselves: to learn, to heal, to feel.  

Born in Springfield Massachusetts, Sammy Plotkin, now Los Angeles based, shares one of his original songs with us!

"No one can tell my story better than me." - Nicole M. Young 

A dear friend and collaborator of Fred Ho, Koga offers a tribute to what would have been Fred Ho's 60th birthday.

Rafael Natan: Oboist; Violinist; Singer; Songwriter; Educator.

Dos poemas en su propia voz por Dra. Ronderos, primero en español, luego traducidos al inglés. Two poems written and read by Dr. Ronderos. first in English then translated into Spanish.

A poem to bring us back to center.

You want to hear these lyrics.

You heard her on Episode 66 and here she is with us once again, sharing her revolutionary love!

Rhina takes us on a brief and relaxing journey. Jazz, Chill and Lofi Beats for Rhina's Texts Produced Royalty Free by Lukrembo.

Poetry is a tool not only of expression, but of healing and resistance.

Rethabile Masile, left his native Lesotho as a refugee in 1981, and has lived in France for over thirty years.

An unfiltered book that speaks to the depths of our humanity, sharing a story that is raw and real, without apology.

"The master's house has burnt to the ground; we dip fingers into the ashes of histories we must never forget." From Election Day, 2008.

Get ready to dance!

A beautiful grieving.

Kevin Kiely was a member of the Punk band the Mumps. Get energized with a cut from Kevin's demo tape with the Mumps.

Dedicated to Magaly Cardona for a lifetime of offering sacred space to so many. 

A Jazz Ready Moment; La Sirena Just Lets It Flow.

Este episodio es bilingüe. María José Giménez es Poeta Lauread@ de Easthampton, MA. USA

Cornelius Eady sings with the Cornelius Eady Trio.

A Gershwin work arranged and performed by Nina Kennedy. 

Martin F. Jones went through his music archives for Jazz Ready Listeners. Springfield teens tear it up at the Big Apple Festival in New York City, 1988!

Emma reads an original three-part poem.

Ruth Margraff, Libretto/Lyrics; Richard Marriott, Composer and Conductor. Isabella Marriot, Louise Cloutier: Leyla. Erik Bagger: Joseph. Fahimeh Mehrabkani, Amy Mendon, Dina Zarif: Fatima. Ric Louchard, Piano; Sirvan Manhoubi, Oud; Mohammad Ghaffari, Dramaturg; Ravand Samaeekia, Santour.

You will experience three selections of an interdisciplinary theater work inspired by the work of Farid ud-Din Attar. Featuring Composer, Graham Haynes; Vocals, Haleh Abghari; Lyrics, Ruth Margraff; Choreography, Peggy Choy.

Poet and Polyglot, María Luisa Arroyo shares her work in three languages. Her books are available on Amazon.

Siblings, Sol and Ilhan Braxton, share their voices from the glorious mountains of Puerto Rico!

Original poems read by the artist.

From Wikipedia: Ernesto Cardenal Martínez (20 January 1925 – 1 March 2020) was a Nicaraguan Catholic priest, poet, and politician. He was a liberation theologian and the founder of the primitivist art community in the Solentiname Islands, where he lived for more than ten years (1965–1977).

An intimate, living room version.

Azwan shares two very different styles of his original songs. Thank you Amherst Media for introducing me to Azwan and his creative work some years ago. This badass artist started young!

You met Mina in episode 31, "Some Poets Study Medicine." In this episode she shares new work and reflections as she prepares to move to Ireland next month, where she will be based.

Building new narratives of Liberty and Justice among generations.

One Flag, Two Sides. A poem by Magdalena Gómez

PRIDE. YES!  Fireworks? Hmmm. Shall we think again?

Richard Spiegel is living literary history. If you love and love poetry, literature and justice, this episode is a must-listen for you.

Music that allows us to be playful, reminding us that in the of worst times we most need to find our playfulness and laughter. 

The original broadcast in Minneapolis, Minnesota, circa 2003. Part of the "Circle Around the Sun: Caliente Tour"; a preview to their performance at Macalester College.

Marian Woodstock, whose story was featured in Episode 33, shares true stories for animal lovers, in her own voice. She also brings us a song written by Paul Francis Webster and made famous by Johnny Mathis.

Academy Award winner and two time Grammy nominee, Derek Bermel, shares work inspired by painter, Jacob Lawrence (1917-2020). Performed by the Albany Symphony Orchestra.

This double episode features these four world class artists intersecting, collaborating, in this global and intergenerational Legacy of Jazz Ready! Jazz Ready brings you OOAK listening experiences.

Thanks to the exceptional work and love for poets of Brett Rutherford and Poet's Press, we can hold Holland's earlier work in our hands. www.poetspress.org

When the people and the land welcome us, and we accept, we can be at home anywhere. 

Geter's poem as also heard on poets.org.

A devoted and relentless activist and highly accomplished writer, D.Dina Friedman is a witness to the treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers at the U.S. border between Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Mexico. Also at a child "detention" center in Homestead, Florida. Dina speaks out in true story and true poems.  *Note from Magdalena: Matamoros is an unfortunate name of racism, murder and hate, "Kill Moors" so named by Spanish invaders. In Western Massachusetts we too hold onto the names of murderers to represent us. May that day soon be over.

How well do you know your ghosts?

Get your heart lit and your feet dancing!

Barson is the protégé of the late Fred Ho (Episode 92). Barson and a number of other artists invite us into an excerpt of his "Mirror Butterfly: The Migrant Liberation Movement Suite" as performed at the Kennedy Center in 2019. 

Many of the artists you have heard on Jazz Ready have a Fred Ho connection. Now its time you hear one of his works. Later this summer Jazz Ready will offer a  tribute performance for Fred in honor of his birthday. 

Taproots, back in the house! Previously on Episode 57. Welcome back!

Figueroa performs a soulful fusion of two original poems.

Where is your farm? What are your seeds?

Caridad brings you her Nuyorican Hip-Hop vibe, with a new poetic work.

Zoe's latest song - Uprising (Hunger Games). Let's get this on the radio! Spread the word!

Dra. Xingona with us again! Also with us on #27 and #39

Had a tough day? John Brandoli has some spirit lifting music as he performs his new single, "All Your Heart"

Marina was with us for Episode 50 and now joins us again for another performance excerpt.

María Luisa Arroyo shares an Ekphrastic poem inspired by a quilt created by Faith Ringgold.

Three brothers. One was a soldier. Featuring John and Jim Lescault.

A new version of  Danca da Solidao, Dance of Solidtude, by singer-songwriter-sambista, Paulinho da Viola.

Lydia Cortes tells a story through poetry that may ring familiar to some of you.

Visual Artist and Poet, Yasmin Hernandez, shares original poetry. This episode is aired in solidarity with all Black Lives and in memory of the executed. Jazz Ready Artists are United in Solidarity: Black Lives Matter. There was and will never be an episode 78. And we will never be able to get it back.

 Ign!te the M!c in the House! Bronx Afro-Boricua, Andrew Torres, in the house of Springfield! Finishing his doctorate, he still makes time for us. Share the link to share the love.

 Magdalena Gomez. The Blue Wall. A wall that must come down. Black Lives Matter.

Timely work from a prolific artist of novel writing, a scholar and professor, who reads from one of his books that was effortlessly born to be a film.

The root of Power.

Our featured artist, Jocelyn Mosman, shares two of her original poems with us. Recorded just for you!

Masaru Koga and his fellow musicians, bring us the sound of "Perseverance" in the most unexpected and life-giving ways. Koga is joined by Daveed Behroozi, piano; Tim Volpicella, electric guitar; Ken Okada, bass; Bryan Bowman, drums; and Jimmy Biala, Percussion. Remember to share the Jazz Ready link with those you love and all you wish to uplift.  The volunteer Jazz Ready artists give their all to us - share the love!

Dan Robert has created and performs two poems for our Jazz Ready community. Do you live in Western, MA? YES! Our one and only, Dan Robert! Teatro V!da and PVPA in the house, all the way from L.A.

In this episode, composer, vocalist, poet and multi-instrumentalist Pan Morigan offers us a special gift created specifically for our Jazz Ready global community. The episode is slightly longer than usual, as we honor all people around the world who have died at the hand of violence. This work honors the dead while inspiring the living. Pan Morigan has travelled the world as an artist, including touring with Bobby McFerrin's, vocal ensemble, "Voicestra." 

Written by Magdalena Gómez shortly after 9/11 and published in 2004 by Rotary Records.

Artists of diverse musical genres come together to support day laborers. Learn how you can be part of the vision.

What would you write to your father?

Nejma Nefertiti performs her original "Mother Afrikaa" in a version you'll be hearing here first. 

Musician. Singer.Songwriter. Poet. Author. Educator: Leah Wells brings us a light-hearted moment of musical satire.

These are visceral poems that gently guide us into a deeper experience of our own humanity. Good medicine for this moment in history, and for any time we wish to be present inside our skin.

Why an actor brings her craft to medical professionals. Visit www.fuacatafilms.com to learn more about Margo and this innovative woman owned and run production company.

Puerto Rican Passport Required to Access this Episode.

Descansen en los brazos de una improvisación bilingüe creada y presentada en El Bronx, por Poeta, Urayoán Noel. Listen and rest in the arms of a bilingual improvised performance created in the South Bronx by Poet, Urayoán Noel.

Is "blood thicker than water"? A reading from "Shameless Woman" followed by a writing prompt for writers at any stage in their craft.

Sitarist and visual artist, Galen Passen living in Brooklyn, NY, honors one of our beloved and respected Arts Elders in Springfield, MA.

Embracing and Protecting Cultural  and Historical Memory in Chaotic Times. A writing prompt follows the poem, the title cut from the 2004 CD, Amaxonica: Howls from the Left Side of My Body. Rotary Records. Warren Amerman. Co-producer and Engineer.

A tapestry of music genres will take you on a ride through time back to right now. Music of Resistance and Honoring.

Alexander Ayala Palacin shares a wonderful teaching about the Champeta music genre, and includes one of his original songs. Like going to class to have fun! Maestro Boricua in the House!

What is Mother's Day to You?

Galen left for India while still in high school to pursue his passion for Hindustani music.

You are the first to hear this collaboration of text and music.

Episode 52 and Ign!te the M!c is back in the house! Zoe is 16 years old, with a trajectory of work that defies the few years she's been on the planet.  Give a listen; give some love. You will say you knew her when....

What?! Yes. Really. It's Really Them. Be transported while staying in place. No ticket required.

On this 50th episode of Jazz Ready, let's welcome multidisciplinary artist, Marina Celander, as she shares an excerpt from one of her award winning solo shows. 

Western Massachusetts is a land of artists and many of them land in Springfield at Ign!te the M!c at the Bing Arts Center, where magic always happens. We loved them Live and now they're back, connecting us, defying distance.

You never know who you'll meet at the library.

What I didn't learn in Sunday School.

A narrative Inspired by the work of sculptor Leah Poller. www.leahpoller.com

No plane, no ticket required. Inma Heredia, besides being a singer, is also the first and only flamenco comedian.

Perry Yung brings us Shakuhachi offerings of honoring and remembering those who have passed. Some of you know him as Father Jun on the Cinemax/HBO Series, Warrior.

Indigenous Mexican Actor, Poet and Educator, Glenda Jasso Aquino, shares poems in ancestral indigenous languages.

A Journey from Visions to Re-Visions. Where do you travel?

James Lescault, Executive Director of Amherst Media in Massachusetts, shares rediscovered moments from his past and a poem written in his youth. www.amherstmedia.org

Multi-disciplinary Artist and Lighting Designer, Kathy Couch joins us with her personal thoughts on Ramadan and a poem by Kazim Ali.

Dra. Xingona a.k.a. Dr. Diana Alvarez, is with us once again, with a new song. 

A Jazz Ready Invitation from La Sirena Magdalena

Science Professor and Researcher, Dan Bisaccio brings us poetry and narrative of optimism and solace for these times and for always, as we honor Earth Day and Poetry Month.

Filmmaker and Multi-Disciplinary Artist, Ela Alpi Visits from Chile. Podcast in Spanish and English. Episodio 36 en Español e Inglés.

A poem on grieving for this moment we share together.

Leah advises us to "Lay it All Down"

Marian Woodstock of the U.K. reminds us of simple acts done with great love. The poetry of living with intention.

This episode features Ign!te the M!c Collect!ve member, Ilhan Braxton.

A young woman with a vision for her life, Mina Atif.

When Arts Heal. Morales performs a memorial tribute.

16 years old, and an old soul you'll want to hear again and again. Ign!te the M!c in the house!

Happy Easter, in all that it represents, no matter who we are or what we believe. Dr. Otto Muller: Piano; mix. Dr. Myrna Miranda-O'Neill, flute. Magdalena Gomez, text; reader.

Diana Alvarez, known as a vocalist, is also a poet...and so much more.

A New Year's Eve Prayer from 2019. Poet: Magdalena Gómez. What would be your revolutionary prayer?

María Luisa Arroyo, made history as the first Poet Laureate of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Have you ever been called Loca?

Poet, Magdalena Gómez reads from the work of poet, Nina Lydia Olff. Who will speak to us of death?

A Call to Rise.

Dr. Otto Muller, Piano; Dr. Myrna Miranda-O'Neill, Flute; Magdalena Gómez, Poet Goddard College, Vermont, 2016

What poems, stories, warnings and secrets does your breathing hold?

How are you and the Earth getting along?

Covid 19 takes the mic.

Opening the month with Chilean revolutionary singer and composer, Victor Jara.

Holy Week?

Ign!te the M!c Founding Member shares a poem of resistance about depression.

From her first poetry CD, Amaxonica: Howls fom the Left Side of My Body

Celebrating Puerto Rico's greatest Afro-Boricua Poet and Activist.

Poem followed by a writing prompt or simply something to think about.

Rafael Cancel Miranda. Always in Our Hearts. A reading in Spanish.

To Be? To Do?

More Inspiring Poems by Children.

A poem I was commissioned to write a decade ago.

Do you have an Ode waiting to be written?

Keeping it short. Keeping it real.

This episode features a writing prompt that you can use even if you've never written a poem before, or you've written a thousand poems. Your muse is always within. 

Origins of a Nuyorican Performance Poet, 1971

Protect Water and Thank her.

Magdalena Gomez reads from an anthology of young poets; commentary.

3.18.2020.   This is the first in a series. As the Poet Laureate of Springfield, Massachusetts, I want to share what will uplift, encourage and inspire you with poetry from around the world, and some of my own; magical stories from everyday life; a conjuring based in love and positive thoughts for real life.  6.12.2020.    I am thrilled to say that I was soon joined by other artists, and together we have created the Jazz Ready Global Community, along with our beloved and devoted listeners. We will continue until we can all hug in person again.