house of jaz
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Cute As [House of Jaz] Buttons
July 10.11
I’m working on my “merch” for the blog. The House of Jaz brand is slowly becoming recognizable. I debuted these “Artist.Poet.MusicLover” buttons at my show. They were a hit! If you’ve purchased a button from the show, take a pic and send to hojdmv@gmail.com. I’d love to see all of my artist.poet.musiclovers out there!!
Reflection[Internal]:: Feature at Bohemian Caverns
July 10.11
::One of my friends rocking my #hoj buttons with FREESTYLE! This Way (Levi Stephens) painting in the background::
I know I haven’t posted in a while. I’d like to avoid using any cliches that refer to me being “on my grind” or “making moves”, but I have been in a state of reflection. I must admit, I’m still high from my show at Bohemian Caverns. It felt awesome to have my family front row center, to hear chants of my friends and colleagues, to be able to share my heart with everyone in the form of spoken word, and to have my art as the backdrop.
It still baffles me how I’ve been able to conjure words to articulate the mumbles of my heart; it baffles me even more to know that I (a “part-time poet”) know enough people who WANT to hear my words and see my work. To everyone who traveled to see me and cheered me on in spirit, THANK YOU and STAY TUNED!
Save the Date:: 06.29.11 DC Haps: Wednesday Night Verses feat. Jazz the Poet (That’s Me!)
June 6.11
It’s been a year since my last big poetry feature and I’m really excited about this one. Last year, a dear friend gave me an opportunity to share my voice. She allowed me, a relatively unknown poet to have a platform to share and express my words and my heart and it felt good. I’ve grown a lot since then; I’ve tuned into who I am as a creative and am continuing to cultivate my crafts.
This year, I’m proud to say that I’ve written a few more pieces (I’ve also developed their sound), and I’ve done the occasional live painting. All of this will be on display on June 29, 2011 at my Wednesday night “get-right”. Check the flyer for deets. Hope you can make it.
**FINGERS CROSSED** I’m hoping to have prints of the featured paintings for sale. I will keep you posted.
*Besos*
National Poetry + [Jaz]z Appreciation Month
April 8.11
The month of April is National Poetry AND Jazz (the genre, not yours truly) appreciation month. It’s only right that I dedicate most if not ALL of the remaining posts for the month to both art forms (with of course a touch of art). If you have something you’d like to have posted, please send your poem, song, or video for review to hojdmv@gmail.com.
Mixology!
March 5.11
Here’s one of my latest designs for an after-work open mic mixer. The whole approach and idea for this concept was to literally mix fonts, patterns, and imagery without them visually clashing. If you’re ever in New Jersey, you should definitely check it out! Tell them Jazzo sent you.
Quoto Series:: As
November 1.10 — 1 Comment
I’m not sure who the artist of this beautiful artwork is, but I had to pair it with one of my favorite lines from Stevie Wonder’s “As” (cue the infamous scene from “The Best Man”).
They Reminisce Over You:: Bleek Week Presents: The Blower (A Hip Hop Event)
October 21.10
A roster of some of the dopest emcees in the NJ/NY area come together to celebrate the life of Deveran "Bleek" Ashe
In some instances of our lives, we catch a glimpse of the way we are perceived by the people we interact with on a personal and impersonal basis. If we are fortunate, we will accumulate a circle of individuals who have accepted the task of celebrating and allowing us to exude and live in the very essence of who we are. When someone is a creative, one of the greatest blessings is to develop an ongoing cypher amongst friends that consists of inspiration, challenge, love, and creativity. It’s even more dope if the cypher carries on after your time on earth has expired.
If your legacy is anything like Deveran “Bleek” Ashe, you will be one who has inspired your friends to pull all of their resources together to create a week of celebration in the truest essence of you.
The celebrations are already in full swing in New Jersey; Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend, but if you are in the area, you should DEFINITELY check it out!
The Inspiration Behind Bleek Week (October 18–23, 2010)
This is Deveran ‘Bleek’ Ashe: a writer, poet, father, jazz aficionado, and honorary Newark son. Bleek came to Newark in 2007 to connect with college buddies from Wiberforce University. He traveled throughout the metro area reading and reciting his poetry and touching people’s lives. He was a regular at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers and The Newark Public Libraries. He taught everyone around him discipline. Every day he read and every night he wrote. He challenged the poets of The People’s Open Mic of Newark and various venues around the city to be refined and to acknowledge their legacies. In 2009, he was struck by a sudden illness and passed away in February, but his friends, family and poetic soul mates will not let his memory die.
Bleek Week is an outpouring of love and creativity from people he touched. His friends and family have organized 6 days of jazz, poetry, hip hop and visual and public art events in downtown Newark. He did a lot in his short life. He came to Newark, pursued his dreams and was greatly inspirational and influential to the poets and the people of the community.
This entire week is a fundraiser for his two sons Miles and Malik.
Monday, October 18: Blue Floozie Waterfalls— A one-woman jazz and poetry show performed by Mia X.
Tuesday, Ocotber 19: Fermented Grapes— a spoken word tribute and open mic in his honor, curated by K. Desiree
Wednesday, October 20: Culture Food— an art mixer with live painting, photography and a short film about a day in his life.
Thursday, October 21: The Traveling People’s Open Mic—From six until eight pm groups of performers will be positioned at 1) Penn Station 2) 744 Broad Street between Academy and Clinton Sts. (The former Starbucks location) 3) Halsey and Raymond Blvd and 4) Branford and Halsey Streets. There will be poetry readings, dancing, singing, doing live art and connecting with the community.
Friday, October 22: The Blower (A Hip Hop Show)— Dedicated to Bleek’s sons, this event is positive and full of local talent (many of which have been featured on the blog).
Saturday, October 23rd: Hard Bop and Haiku— This is Bleek’s birthday celebration with a trumpet battle. Winner takes $250.00 and a special performance from a tap dancer.
After hearing the rundown of events and knowing the people that Bleek has inspired, I felt compelled to share not only his story, but the awesome way his friends and loved ones have decided to celebrate his legacy. I personally believe it is important to think about how you’d like to be remembered. How does that compare to what people will actually say about you when you are no longer physically present? What is your legacy?
BONUS: Check out the track underneath the flyer, by Brokn.Englsh’s own Myk Dyaleks. It’s available for download here.
Artist @ He[art]: Gallery Page
October 11.10
I’m trying to find the best way to give a snapshot of all of the artwork I’ve created. I’ve decided to display my informal portfolio on Tumblr. Let me know what you think!
Jazzo’s Introduction to MUSE-IC: Electric Relaxation + My Mellow, My Man
October 11.10
I’ve been in serious artist mode lately, and I couldn’t be more excited. I may be posting less in the next few months. It’s not for lack of content; it’s more in hopes to slightly shift the direction of HOJ. I’m currently in the process of beginning a new painting series, working on some new projects, writing, and living. Living is very much a prerequisite to any of my crafts; the beauty of creating anything is having the ability to capture those moments and being able to deliver the message so that many can feel it, relate, or even respect your perspective.
I believe that my perspective has always been one of organic experimentation with a whimsy of elements of being human. As a graphic designer by profession, I spend much of my day fussing over the details, making sure everything is aligned, making sure the dimensions are correct, and searching for the right elements to complement each other. When I’m painting or creating, I enjoy the exact opposite. I find absolute joy in “freestyling” when I’m painting, whether it’s exploration of various forms of media, or simply seeing what happens when I mix various styles of technique.
I’m excited to formally introduce two pieces from the new series of paintings I’m working on. I don’t think I’ve quite given an official “artist statement”, but I will say this about what you should expect to see in this particular series: You should expect to see color—lots and lots of color. Expect to see lots of line work (organic and untamed). Hopefully, you will see my love for music. A lot of the pieces are and will be inspired by music I’ve posted on this very page (hope you’ve been paying attention!!). Everything in my art is intentional (color choice, line work, subject matter). Some things will be easy to decipher, while other things are for me to know and for you to find out. With all that being said, here are two pieces from my new MUSE-IC Series…
MUSE-IC: Electric Relaxation
MUSE-IC: My Mellow, My Man
Stay tuned as the MUSE-IC family grows. I have AMPLE material! Thanks for letting me share. *Besos*
QUOTO Series:: Do It 4 U (This Is For)
October 6.10
We are all familiar with the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. It’s no doubt that art, poetry, and music are interchangeable muses that have the ability to create a never-ending cipher of visually and aurally stimulating compositions. I’ve been inspired by all of the former to create a new feature on the blog. This new section entitled QUOTO (Quote + Photo) Series, is an exploration of photography, illustration, and typography. The purpose is to merely narrate the beauty of an image with a song (line, lyric, quote) that I feel tells the story. Some may be literal; other interpretations are figurative. First up in this section is none other than a photo taken by my favorite photog femcee, Emperess and a line from 1/3 of Brokn.Englsh, Myk Dyaleks. Check it! (All use of this image without permission of the owner is prohibited.)
:: Photography by Emperess ::
You can download the song DO IT 4 U (This Is For) from Brokn.Englsh’s release “Dreamscape” (FO FREE!) here.
