Submitted by the Lopez Island Library

World-class chamber jazz duo PoetryMusic will perform an intimate concert at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 3 at the Lopez Island Library. This will be the library’s closing event for National Poetry Month. The cello and vibraphone duo combine well-known poetry, jazz music and photography for an unforgettable multimedia performance. They have performed at libraries and house concerts across the country. Said one librarian: “If you like jazz and if you like poetry, this program is an incredible blend of the two. Chris plays the vibraphone, box drum and frame drum, while Colleen plays the cello and has a deep resonant voice perfect for jazz-style vocals. The lyrics are poems, everything from Maya Angelou to Robert Frost to Kerouac to Shakespeare. Beautifully rendered into song and music, and supported by words and photography cast on a screen behind the performers. ”

For over 30 years Chris Lee and Colleen O’Brien have been performing as the eclectic chamber jazz duo Primal Mates, The Chris Lee /Colleen O’Brien Group and currently as PoetryMusic. Growing up about a mile from each other in Portland, Oregon, they met in 1980 when Colleen asked Chris to play drums in a quartet she was forming. The two soon realized they had even more in common as ‘anam cara,’ as the Irish say, or soul mates. Along the way they raised a son; spent a year in Alaska where the vibe, cello and voice duo was born; recorded projects of original music for a quintet that featured Art Lande and Paul McCandless of the group Oregon; performed at the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival and Festival Internacional de Jazz in San Miguel, Mexico; and have been featured on the Denver PBS series Artist Profile.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Lopez Island Library. Refreshments will be provided. The program is expected to last one hour.