American Haikus

Based on the first track of Blues and Haikus, American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac’s second album, 1959.

Just like its predecessor, Poetry for the Beat Generation, legendary beatnik writer Jack Kerouac’s second album, Blues and Haikus, teamed him with producer Bob Thiele and came out on Thiele’s Hanover label in 1959. But this time around, instead of the debut’s inspired amateur jazz piano flourishes from Steve Allen, Kerouac insisted on bona fide jazz musicians to accompany his stream-of-consciousness prose. And boy, did he get them—big-time post-bop saxophonists Al Cohn and Zoot Sims made their bones in Woody Herman’s band, and here they provide effective counterpoint commentary to Kerouac’s readings. As for those who approach this release from a more literary angle, Blues and Haikus reflects Kerouac’s interest in Eastern religion and meditative practices as expressed in his novel The Dharma Bums as opposed to the more On the Road-like exultations of Poetry for the Beat Generation. But whatever your interest, boppish or bookish, Blues and Haikus is an essential document from one of our most iconic American authors, and, after listening to this album, one thing is for sure: no one is having a better time at this recording session than Kerouac himself!

Created and Screened for LUMEN 2010

Atlantic Salt, Inc. is a small, family-owned and operated marine terminal located in Staten Island, NY that unloads salt from vessels and distributes it for winter-time de-icing.

The company has become known not only for providing refuge from the bitter cold New York winters, but as a presenter of arts for the Staten Island community, which led to the company being selected as a BCA 10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts in America honoree in 2013. In 2005, Atlantic Salt assisted the Noble Maritime Collection in develop­ing an art exhibition on the salt industry of New York City.