Jane Grenier & Albey Balgochian: Word Against the Machine
By Raul da Gama - Nov 5, 2019
A review of Word Against the Machine - by Jane "Spoken Word" Grenier and Albey "onBass" Balgochian
"The poet is the most conspiratorial of artists. No other artist is privileged to enter another person's mind so invisibly. Poems need nothing but themselves to make themselves felt; no wall to hand on, no stage or screen. Spoken or read, poems require merely our confidence to receive them. The unique pleasure of poetry is an unencumbered transmitting of one mind's experience to another. Among the handful of poets - published and/or performing today - one mind that thrills is the one inside Jane Grenier's brain. Communicating directly with the nerve endings of her hands Miss Grenier's poetry shocks and thrills - once again - in Word Against the Machine, her new collection of poetry that appears in a slim volume with artfully creative line drawings by her husband and contrabassist Albey Balgochian.
I had said earlier that a poem needs no accompaniment to transmit its message. But Miss Grenier's work on the complementary CD - like those of the poets of Jazz, the Beats and Rappers; The Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron and others - does, in fact come with accompaniment. In Ms. Grenier's case this takes the form of Mr Balgochian's contrabass. And if the words of Ms. Grenier's poetry were not tough enough (which they most certainly are), Balgochian's moaning, groaning and rumbling contrabass adds double the gut-punch to their rage.
Words Against the Machine comes after Ms. Grenier's and Mr Balgochian's earlier work, Tragically Hip (2012). When the 2012 book was published credit was given to the artists who then called themselves Zen Beatz. The word, "Zen", of course, comes from the Chinese (Chan), which traces its roots to the Indian practice of dhyana (or "meditation") from a school of Mahayana Buddhism. The poetry took issue with social anomalies even then as well. But compared to the tone of voice of the poems in that book, the poetry of 'Word Against the Machine' - spoken or read - burns with a raging in the bluest part of a flame.
The rage makes for an urgency not simply to listen, but to act; a call to rise up from apolitical stasis, to voice dissent and join any resistance up to and including (I am assuming, voting Trump and his Republican refusniks out of office). There is no secret that all of that has been brought on by the fascist-politik of the present government in the White House. The rot, as we know it, is so deep that it is being spewed forth in almost every aspect of life today. The artists deals a blow to this from the very cover of the book onwards where the title nestles cheek-by-jowl with words signifying the issues and emotions involved: "love", "justice", "solidarity", "freedom", "peace" and more.
Still nothing can prepare you for the poetry within that stings the senses like the hot breath of the poet. You don't have to wait long for that either. Here is Jane Grenier in the first poem in the book:
"Acknowledging the depth of evils perpetrated
by white sheets in the night.
A trail of tears, devastation, destruction, slavery,
rape, mutilations, murder, mass incarcerations.
Hatred
Sorrowed by purposely inflicted pain
of one human upon another
I weep at the heartlessness of it all." (from "Questing")
Then she decries the power of what she calls "the right-wing moral majority" and
"liberated to generate visions", she proceeds to define her poetic objective with:
"Curving words, staining vowels, dripping metaphors.
Engaged in abstractions
Committed to shine
To Black Lives Matter
To Standing Rock
To Dreamers
To Lovers
To Youth on the march
To Women on the move
To Humanity
To inspire tribal resolution
Where I and he and she and me
and the rest of yous including you and us
become
We" (from "Questing")
With her stated "quest" and manifesto, Ms. Grenier proceeds to tackle hot-button issues and explode the myths and singing against the proverbial joy spring in "Winter has come to America" where she finds that "we have been trumped" and that "Whitey is blindly stumbling through life"... again, she calls the faithful to action, saying that "Silence is Death".
Ms. Grenier writes not with pen to paper, but rather with the raw nerve endings of her fingers. Her poetry is visceral. Eden does not exist, she says in "Righteousness" where "Vengefully severed from the promised garden" she finds herself - and indeed - all of her country "Surrounded by wailing walls of lamentation." Here too the imagery is stark and even phantasmagorical: "Rising from the volcanic mud of beasts", the "cruel men and mean women" of her poem "prey upon us as their sin eaters feasts".
The writing, then, is fiercely emotional, but in its imagery, is also redemptive. But the "Time is Now", she tells us but only if we answer an urgent "yes" to the series of rhetorical questions put to us in that poem. You do have to make a clean break away from the "amerikkkan" society that you have found yourself in though. The consequence, she announces in "Blood on the Track", will be dire, as: "Precariously perched on insanities edge" we'll see "Innocence transformed into fists of might."
On some poems - the ones recited on the accompanying disc - Ms Grenier is joined by slam poets Michael "Warrior" Bonds, Art Collins and John Sinclair. Together they indulge in ferocious dialogues as they "spit" the poems - "Political Speak-Reparations", "I can't get no Saddest Faction" and "I Dance" respectively. The harshest imagery is tempered with brilliant word-play and even humour, albeit a tad dark - and all of it comes as Mr Balgochian rumbles along on his contrabass. The rhythm is often that of a racing heartbeat even as the words are shepherded by a meter that is dangerously free. This and every other poem recited or read is poetry at its finest no matter whether you experience it reading through the poems in the book or performed by artists on the sharpest edge of creativity as Jane Grenier and Albey Balgochian clearly are."

JazzdaGama     Read the full review.

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Word Against the Machine "Every once in a while something comes along out of the blue that restores one's faith in humanity, and that's what I want to say about this book of poetry. Sent to me unsolicited for review by co-author Jane 'SpokenWord' Grenier, it reminded me that there are others out there who are beyond disturbed at the state of our world, from the corruption in politics to the devastation of our environment to the corporate takeover and ruination of everything holy.
I get the sense -- from Jane's nickname and from the available audio recordings of several of these poems accompanied by co-author and Albey 'onBass' Balgochian -- that this poetry is meant to be experienced auditorily, such as at a slam poetry or spoken word event. Nevertheless, it stands on its own as solid poetry whether read aloud or in silence.
The themes of these poems are founded in resistance to the evils facing us in this country today, from the current occupant of the White House ("I woke up to an orange man president with a wig hat on" in "Darkness of Knight") to the corporatization of the food supply ("those who control the food, control the world" in "Those who Control the World") to the destruction of the environment ("I'm hear to tell you that it's you that I fear, all that smell you smear on daily from your toes up to your hair" in "Anthrax and Bombs") to the folly of religion ("as long as it's your version of god then you're happy" in "Bang your Dead") to racial injustice ("where is your outrage?" in "Reparations").
The last three poems are strong back-and-forth collaborations with poets Michael 'Warrior' Bonds, Art Collins, and John Sinclair.
There are connections to Jack Kerouac here. Grenier uses neologisms such as "politricks" and "deNOTcracy" in "I Write" to make her points. Jack would dig that. And her poem "I am a poet" was chosen for publication in "We Are Beat," the National Beat Poetry Foundation Anthology 2019. There's a Beat flavor to this poetry, as well as a Beat attitude toward social conventions. Finally, it's poetry, and Jack was a poet of considerable note as we've pointed out repeatedly in this blog.
Overall, this book is a wake-up call, a call to action from a devout member of "the resistance" who understands that "silence is death" (in "Winter has come to America"). As such, I can only say huzzah and encourage readers to buy the book. Remember, "you're never too old to mend your soul" (in "JIMI")."

Rick Dale - The Daily Beat    Read the full review.

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Word Against the Machine

Mbizo Chirasha

Real poetry spews hard truth "Jane Spoken word, yours is not only art for the sake of art. Yours is a verve of resistance. It is verbal recipe of resilience, revolutionary.
Real Poetry scalds to the inner-deepest core the corruption oiled skins of double bellied political fat- cats with their long -tyranny cracked hands wiping human freedoms off this our once peaceful and sacred earth. Real poetry spanks heavily onto the bolt nut skulls of die-hard racial supremacists killing innocence in broad daylight. Jane Spoken word, yours is not only art for the sake of art. Yours is a verve of resistance. It is verbal recipe of resilience, revolutionary. Your protest lines heave with sorrowful tears of mothers who lost wombs in the charcoal of racial madness. Your imagery is pregnant with vitriol heavy in the hearts of devilish political demigods. And more to it, your lyrical gymnastics is highly captivating, your ability to connect, street slang and traditional Oxford diction amounts to dexterity. You are the Voice of the Voiceless. You speak and write for the living and the dead. The marrow and bone of your verse is unbreakable. You are the brand literary arts ambassador of hard truth. You represent protest, resistance and resilience voices. Your verses are cactus spikes that dig in the iron fists of tyrants. TIME OF THE POET REPUBLIC celebrates with you in speaking truth to political power. We cherish your candidness as your words prevail along with our new culture of resistance against racist-supremacist killings #BLACKLIVESMATTER. We chant protest, we fist up resistance. Together We Rise"

Mbizo CHIRASHA - TIME OF THE POET REPUBLIC     Read the full review.

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Raul Da Gama * NYC Jazz Record * NYC Jazz Times * Wilbur Ware Inst * Marc Corroto

Tragically Hip

Raul daGama

"It is with a great deal of joy that this little book of poetry and an accompanying CD, Tragically Hip is welcomed. Jane Grenier, poet and voice artist and Albey Balgochian, her partner and the bassist who is also the illustrator of the book and who accompanies the poet throughout the recitations paying homage to maestros of music from guitarist Jimi Hendrix to pianist Cecil Taylor and even revisits the Gil Scott-Heron magnum opus, "The Revolution will not be Televised." Ms. Grenier is a fine conjurer of sinewy imagery, her metaphors are dripping with irony, and her thoughts examined with brutal precision. The poems are heightened by the howling and screaming of Albey 'onBass' Balgochian. The bassist also contributes to the recitation but this should not be viewed as an attempt to deflect credit from his virtuosity on the bass. His technique is flawless and his expression is deep and soulful as he uses short legato passages to hum and growl behind and ahead of the voice of Ms. Grenier. The bassist's use of wild and fascinating harmonic rhythms played con arco, especially on "Revolution" are most powerful in enhancing the dry and powerful imagery of the death and decay of both the conspiratorial imperialism enhanced by big business and wealth as well as in the stench of glitter and bling of contemporary fads and fashion. The sharply contrasted pizzicato accompaniment on electric bass against the wailing con arco bowing on acoustic bass on "Flux" provides a dark and shadowy backdrop for the poem, which is hauntingly recited by Ms. Grenier. As vast and forthcoming as North America is about art and more especially the performance of art, poets seem to be left behind; all but forgotten. Europe is somewhat better, although not quite what it was in the twilight of the 60s and the 70s. America has even more dreadful amnesia about poets and poetry, at an ever-dwindling rate in academia, and paid less attention to poetry even throughout the revolutionary 60s and the 70s. Why not? With the Golden Age of Poets and poetry from the turn of the 19th Century to the early part of the 20th Century through the 50s; from Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, H. D. and T. S. Eliot, and poets from Langston Hughes and Alan Tate and Basil Bunting to John Berryman and Robert Lowell, from Anne Sexton to Alan Ginsberg, Gary Snyder and Gregory Corso and Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Michael McClure-the bookshelf and the rarer soiree seemed a better place for poetry. Later, despite the performing power and presence of Gil Scott-Heron and the Last Poets to the impending bloom of rap and Tupac Shakur, America found a way to corrupt and spoil attempts to resuscitate the art. In fact the last time a poet was remembered in recent times was when Mr. Scott-Heron passed on. So it is with a great deal of joy that this little book of poetry and an accompanying CD, Tragically Hip is welcomed.
The credit for this work is attributed to Jane Grenier, poet and voice artist and to Albey Balgochian, her partner and the bassist who is also the illustrator of the book and who accompanies the poet throughout the recitation of the work. If true poetry is: wanting to see the world, to see it better, then this is a sparkling work. It pays homage to maestros of music from guitarist Jimi Hendrix to pianist Cecil Taylor and even revisits the Gil Scott-Heron magnum opus, "The Revolution will not be Televised," from Mr. Scott-Heron's 1970 album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox.
Ms. Grenier is a fine conjurer up of sinewy imagery, sculpted from the angst and ennui of the architecture of capitalism. Thus her metaphors are dripping with irony as in "Dragon Flys" where the day wanes as "neon dragonflies/playing tag with the sun and sky" And the artist is captured "Serenaded by the splendid, invited to the dance, spent the evening at a noble man's digs ... enraptured in his trance." Sly references to patronage smell of insidious intention; almost as if poetry is given the kiss of death by the darker side of capitalism. This thought is further expanded and examined with brutal precision in "Black Leather and Connies," which also throws a sarcastic blow at the bling and posturizing of modern fashion. "Cerial Killer Moms" is a remarkable poem filled with the emptiness of market-driven living that also casts a giant shadow on the creepy influence of media in daily living. "Revolution" is the crowning glory of this book and CD; a poem that reimagines the scene of the crime that once flashed through the mind of Gil Scott-Heron during the period when America was in the grips of war and the impending scandal that brought down the government of President Nixon. However, the poem has much relevance in the long shadow that was cast by eight years of Republican conservatism and the near-death blow to fierce liberalism.
There is a degree of bitterness in some of the poems and this is heightened by the howling and screaming of Albey Balgochian. The bassist also contributes to the recitation but this should not be viewed as an attempt to deflect credit from his virtuosity on the bass. Mr. Balgochian's technique is flawless and his expression is deep and soulful as he uses short legato passages to hum and growl behind and ahead of the voice of Ms. Grenier. The bassist's use of wild and fascinating harmonic rhythms played con arco, especially on "Revolution" are most powerful in enhancing the dry and powerful imagery of the death and decay of both the conspiratorial imperialism enhanced by big business and wealth as well as in the stench of glitter and bling of contemporary fads and fashion. The sharply contrasted pizzicato accompaniment on electric bass against the wailing con arco bowing on acoustic bass on "Flux" provides a dark and shadowy backdrop for the poem, which is hauntingly recited by Ms. Grenier. This book and CD complement each other and bring to life some fresh and daunting work by two artists who certainly deserve greater recognition."

Raul da Gama     Read the full review.

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Tragically Hip "Spoken word hits out at social wrongs over dynamic bass"

Is it possible to be tragically hip? Can you be hip when commenting on and reflecting large events of a contentious nature? Maybe, when the particular subject is world-wide (specifically American) social decay.
An album from New York-based Zenbeatz, bassist Albey Balgochian--also bassist to Cecil Taylor--and spoken word performer and poet Jane Grenier. The album comprises poems written and read by Grenier, while Balgochian's bass (often paired with an over-dubbed track) provides the musical counter-part and backdrop to the words, the effect resembling Alban Berg's Three Pieces on the devastation of the first world war. The poems examine subjects ranging from breakfast diet (the danger of trans fat and sugar-filled cereals) to the current fad for sections of government to engage in corruption and psychological warfare against "their" own citizens. The album is accompanied by a book of Grenier's poems (including some extra poems not recorded), and pen and ink drawings by Balgochian.
Grenier pronounces the truth like a Delphic oracle, while Balgochian's double bass drives the music in interstellar fashion, a virtuosic bassist (he is also leader of the three bass group Bassentric), and has recently recorded another bass and spoken-voice album, with prominent Nuyorican poet and academic Miguel Algarin in 2011. On "Tragically Hip", Balgochian's bass paints a swirling picture, both inspiring conscious thought and stimulating the senses, his palate scoping from avant-classical arco (bow) playing to vibratoed and held high-pitched harmonics. The bass provides a lush backdrop of bent notes, slides and harmonics.
"Tragically Hip" is an eloquent portrayal of twenty-first century blues, though, of course, the current situation began in a straight, traceable trendline from the era of the earliest poem here, the 1960s. The swirling color of organic music and the power of words to inspire thought, provide an answer.
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"Tragically Hip" Summer Bass Pleasure     Gloria Ware - Wilbur Ware Institute

I thoroughly enjoyed Tragically Hip, the poetry of Jane improvised with Albey's musical concepts and hearing his acoustic bass approach. A poet at heart, I was captivated by the poetry and mesmerized by the bass. Experiencing the performance is vital, but seeing the words on the page with Albey's art adds a dimension otherwise unavailable. Nowadays, it is rare to hear acoustic bass playing or see the bass used as a literal percussive device; I remained until the end.
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The CD (and accompanying book) titled Tragically Hip is not as much an oxymoron as it is a curse. As long as the world has had poets (meaning language) there have been those who have a transparent vision of our existence. Some of those poets have collaborated with musicians to illuminate our times. It may have started with Kenneth Patchen, whose pacifist poetry fought imperialism, then Jack Kerouac and his beat immersion into bebop, that hipped kids to jazz. The collaboration is a natural one, like the roots of hip-hop, words unsung are great liberators. Bassist Albey Balgochian has presented jazz and poetry in multiple groups. Here he invites poet Jane Grenier to read her poems to his musical accompaniment. The pair draw from both improvised jazz and hipster spoken tradition. They trod an updated version of Gil Scott-Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" with "The Revolution," a tome that now includes our sanitized Mid-East wars and corporate greed. The war comes home with "Cerial Killer Moms." 'Cerial' being a mashup of cereal and serial. The Death does not come from bombs here, but high fructose corn syrup IEDs. Balgochian's bass is as expressive as a poet's voice. Their marriage of tone and poetry in this EP is timely, yet not quite of the times.

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