Response to The Langston Hughes Project the Twelve Moods of Jazz

This was by far the best poetry reading event I have ever been to. Admittedly, I haven't been to many, but The fact that I love jazz, Langston Hughes, and the Cosbys confirmed my attendance. It was pretty awesome. The band came out and played a little bit of jazz, something recognizeable, and then Doctor Ronald McCurdy, who gave most of the lecturing and some of the reading, began playing trumpet in the back of the audience and slowly made his way on stage. It really felt very interactive, the Doctor asked everyone at the beginning to act as if we were at a Southern Baptist service, and for the most part, people did. The music was custom fit to Hughe's poetry. In the Q&A the Doctor said took cues written in the margins of Hughe's work, sometimes referring to particular songs that Hughes' had in mind during the writing of his poetry, sometimes with just a reference to a musical mood or a particular sound (a fast paced, high-hat driven tune). I loved it, particularly Malcomb Jamal Warner's rendition of Hughes poetry in conjunction with the music of the Ron McCurdey Quintet. I feel like they probably captured what Hughes was probably going for, the sultry sound of Jazz in conjunction with his rhythmic prose. There was a (I believe Russian) woman who filled in for their normal pianist, and she was absolutely amazing. I've never seen anyone switch in between keys and rhythms so naturally.
My favorite aspect of this event was the comedy. I found myself laughing a lot throughout the performance, and it was almost always because of the delivery of a Hughes line by Malcolm Jamal Warner. "Ask your mama" became a punchline to any joke or situation that could be construed as racist or belittling or ignorant.
I actually liked it so much I almost considered going out to Tuskegee to see them the next day. A lot of fun, and very interesting. It was not at all what I expected. Jazz and Poetry have been done before, and so many times, but this stood out and was unique. Good stuff.