He dreamed he played the notes so slowly that they hovered in the air above the crowd and shimmered like a neon sign (Oded Tzur, poem by Dana Gioia)

Thick bass notes from a moon faced drum / Saxophones moan, banjo strings hum / High thin notes from the cornet’s throat / Trombone snorting, bass horn snorting / Short tan notes from the piano / And the short tan notes from the piano (Conny Bauer, poem by Frank Marshall Davies)

It was hard going – / Stagnant and smoldered … / The city moaned and smoldered / Tin cans on the banks like shackles … / To be discovered, in the open … (Johannes Bigge Trio, poem by Lawson Fusao Inada)