word jazz

King of the voiceovers Ken Nordine indulged his creative side with the jazzed out beatnik poetry of this spoken word, free association, flibberty jib on the bipperty bop.  Nordine recorded the aural vignettes of 'Word Jazz' in 1957 after spending years doing commercials and narration on the radio for 'The World's Great Novels'. 

He says:  "I was a great memorizer of poems by T.S. Eliot, Omar Khayyam--all kinds of things. I was working in a little joint and ran out of poems I'd memorized so I had to make up new ones. The jazz pianist, bass player and I would get up and ad-lib stories because the same people came all the time and you couldn't keep repeating yourself. But the beatnik movement happened in San Francisco. I met some of the people when they passed through Chicago, but I never considered myself a beatnik."

Backed by the jazz stylings of the Chico Hamilton band working under the alias of the Fred Katz group, Nordine expounds on various subjects with humor and chutzpah.  You may not think you know who Ken Nordine is; but take one listen and you'll recognize the sultry tones his singular baritone voice.  








'What Time Is It?'  



 

'My Baby' 



 


' The Vidiot'





'Hunger Is From'



 
 

'Flibberty Jib'









'Word Jazz'
full album:




All songs written by Fred Katz and Ken Nordine except where noted.

1   What Time Is It?  4:13
2   My Baby  2:50
3   The Sound Museum  7:50
4   The Vidiot  6:04
5   Roger  5:36
6   Hunger Is From  (Fred Katz)  4:14
7   Looks Like Its Going to Rain  3:52
8   Flibberty Jib  (David Delaski / Ken Nordine)  5:16