THE BIG MIX
at Sweetwater Music Hall
Mill Valley, CA
November 14, 2012

What do you get if you take Beat icon Michael McClure (who penned Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz"), add Rock 'n Roll Hall of Famer Ray Manzarek (Doors keyboardist), stir in jazz/Indian fusion saxophonist and composer George Brooks (Etta James, Summit, Bombay Jazz), infuse with legendary bassist Kai Eckhardt (John McGlaughlin, Garaj Mahal, Zeitgeist), and shake it all up with drummer Jay Lane (Primus, Bob Weir & Ratdog)?

Big Mix serves up the best of contemporary musical artistry. Their unique blend has been called "Dharma Boogie at Its Best", and the group dazzles tonight with an even bigger mix of jazz, poetry, and rock in honor of Michael McClure’s birthday and the release of McClure and Manzarek’s newest CD, The Piano Poems: Live From San Francisco.

You are invited to be part of this awesome Big Birthday Bash (which includes some very special surprise guests)!

Released August 14, 2012!

MICHAEL McCLURE & RAY MANZAREK

THE PIANO POEMS: LIVE FROM SAN FRANCISCO

A collaboration between Ray Manzarek and Michael McClure, this live performance, recorded at an old church, features both new and older poems, with McClure's words and Manzarek's jazz piano.

On a cold, foggy night in San Francisco after a great Japanese meal, Manzarek and I stepped onto the stage and there were sparks of consciousness - the stage was on fire with poems and piano Improvisations. The symbiosis and the synergy made lights. Then Larry Kassin stepped up to join us with his jazz flute and Lou Judson was recording.

This is a live album with its heart still beating - no tricks, gimmicks, or second takes. We are bringing together my poetry and Ray's improvisations that shape my word-sounds into richer meanings: Piano Poems.

There's no way to be without a politics or an antipolitics, no way to be without art, without anger and generosity, without laughter and kindness.

That's the edge we're whetting on this album.

— Michael McClure

The Piano Poems: Live From San Francisco was released on Tuesday, August 14, 2012. It's available both as a CD and as an MP3 download. See below for a link to listen to tracks.

The Piano Poems: Live From San Francisco - CD (at Oglio Records)

The Piano Poems: Live From San Francisco - Listen to tracks / Buy MP3 or CD (Amazon)

Piano Poems: Live from San Francisco - MP3 (on iTunes)