Tuesday, July 15, 2025
6pm @ Edgewood Farm
(Rain Date, Weds, July 16)

Castle Hill presentation of PoemJazz, Robert Pinsky’s innovative dialogue between poetry and music. PoemJazz intertwines language and instrument, emphasizing the physical and melodic qualities of voice, as well as the way jazz improvisation can sometimes seem to speak. The result is an organic new whole of sound and sense.

Robert Pinsky served an unprecedented three terms as U.S. Poet Laureate from 1997 to 2000. During his tenure he established the Favorite Poem Project, a program that movingly explored poetry’s place in American lives. Among his books are eight award-winning collections of verse, translations of Dante and Milosz, critical works and anthologies. In 2010, Poetry published his libretto to Tod Machover’s groundbreaking opera, Death and the Powers

Stan Strickland has performed internationally; been featured on recordings of Bob Moses, Marty Erlich, Webster Lewis and Brute Force; performed with notable jazz musicians Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders, Herbie Mann, Danilo Perez, Shirley Scott and Marlena Shaw; and has opened for Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins. He had leading roles in Boston Art Group, Northeastern University productions, and Vineyard Playhouse Productions, has performed and collaborated with choreographers including Alvin Ailey, José Limón and Bill T. Jones.

Constantly challenging and redrawing boundaries, cellist Catherine Bent has never fit easily into any category. Classically trained on cello and piano, conservatory trained in jazz, and professionally experienced in countless genres, Catherine built a career on the margins while patiently uncovering her unique artistic voice. 

Ricardo Monzón