For the final performance of Jazz Poetry 2024, the tradition of international collaboration and cross-cultural exchange is embraced by saxophonist Alex Harding and Transylvanian expat pianist Lucian Ban. The pair will make their return to City of Asylum with their quintet to share their latest project, Blutopia. They are joined by City of Asylum writer-in-residence Jorge Olivera Castillo, Vietnamese American poet and author of the explorative poetry collection Auction, Quan Barry, Cave Canem Fellow Quincy Scott Jones, and British-Guyanese poet Rajiv Mohabir, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award who will make his long anticipated return to the Alphabet City stage.

Each Jazz Poetry program begins with a 40-minute performance by the band, followed by 30 minutes of collaborative performance with the featured poets. In these collaborations, poets share their work while the musicians interpret and accompany their poetry with jazz, adding a unique, improvisational dimension to each performance.

Featured Musician:

• Lucian Ban: piano
• Alex Harding: saxophone
• Bob Stewart: tuba
• Mat Maneri: viola
• Allan Mednard: drums