Lyrical Fusion. It is the only appropriate description for the spoken word album, The Awakening, by Reggie Eldridge and it’s release party last week in Tampa, Florida. Held at the Embassy Suites-USF Galleria on the University of South Florida campus, where Eldridge is an alumnus, the release party featured performances by Eldridge and a cadre of singers, fellow poets, and musicians. Spoken word, and its more competitive cousin, “Slam Poetry” are the modern and hipper incarnations of performance poetry made famous in the 60’s. Closer to hip-hop in it’s rhythms and sensibilities, it’s a vibrant and popular art form within the African-American community, but has gotten most of its main stream attention via shows like Def Poetry Jam on HBO, and the film Love Jones. Artists like Eldridge, however, are bringing the sounds, rhythms, and messages of spoken word to more and more people through competitions, and national tours; like the Southern Fried Poetry Slam and National Poetry Slam.
Awakening is Eldridge’s third album behind earlier LP’s “A Change Manifesto” and “Reflections in the Mind of a Dying Breed.” The launch party gave the attendees a taste of the albums flavor and a glimpse into the mind and personality of Eldridge himself. Generally, launch parties, of any sort, are focused on the main star doing the releasing. But this was different all together. Eldridge not only shared the stage with other performers, but truly showcased them as well. Running around the room, and introducing his fellow artists he seemed to delight more in having these artists around him, than he did in introducing his third album.
The first performance of the night was a total surprise. Jarryd Dollard, a saxophonist, opened the proceedings with a long and joyful song. It was surprising, of course, because Eldridge’s album is a spoken word album, not a jazz LP. Then things went, I thought at the time, off track with the joint performance of Eldridge and spoken word artist “Detyme” featuring the ninth song on the album “lifelovesong.” It was a dicey start, as it sounded closer to a hip-hop rap than a spoken word performance. Little did I know that it was by design. The album and performers on it, are not merely poets. Detyme rapped, and then performed his poems in a rapid fire way that reminded me, unfortunately, of so many spoken word performers all trying to squeeze “wisdom and knowledge” into four-minute performances with clever words. But things progressed upward from there. Singer Diane Andrieux graced the stage with a voice deep and soulful. Kristiana Rae Colon, a poet, playwright, and professor who has been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, followed her. Kristiana’s performance was masterful, in that, she separated herself by sounding like a real poet, in the sense that she did not try to replicate the same singsong rhythm in her words that many spoken word artist try to copy after watching Love Jones too many times. After Kristiana’s performance, Eldridge kicked things up a notch with the introduction of Dana Harmon, a guitarist.
Attend any spoken word event in a city and there is one thing that is always present, certain coolness, or for some, an attempt at coolness, that permeates the club air. Hip-hop is a close cousin to both spoken word and slam poetry, and so many have the same look, dress, and mannerisms made famous, or infamous, depending on your worldview in the hip-hop world. What it does not have—usually–is a loud electric guitarist channeling Jimi Hendrix. That is exactly what Eldridge and Harmon did while performing track number 14, Fire Flies. Eldridge then, left Harmon to work his guitar magic solo. Exuding the total coolness of a rock star and poet, Harmon poured power and passion into the release party as he worked his guitar like an extension of himself.
The last guest artist to perform was, to this writer, the delight of the night. Aleshea Harris could be considered the oft-mentioned triple threat of the night. She’s a poet, singer, and playwright. Speaking to Harris before her performance, I was left with the impression of a delightful, yet soft spoken girl. Her voice seemed light, and there was meekness in her demeanor. After seeing her perform, however, I had to have been severely mistaken. Harris took the stage and sang with a power and presence that was arresting, her voice deep, her words biting, yet playful. She held the room’s attention like none of the guests before her, and when she finished, she walked off the stage with the same meek quality I had spied before. But it was not meekness, but humbleness born from the feeling that she is a vessel for the messages she tries to convene in words and song.
After the performances were done, I realized that the same humbleness was flowing from the focus of the night, Eldridge. It was his party, but he was as excited about the artists sharing the stage with him, as was the audience. In many ways the launch was a perfect example of his album. He used the jazz, hip-hop, souls, rock, and words to fuse together a project that goes beyond mere “poetry.” It is a lyrical fusion. And it is worth any poetry or musical enthusiasts putting into their collection.
