Wendy Tarlecki

The Advocate

Thought-provoking creative non-fiction and the soul-spoken sounds of jazz are being combined in a whole new way. MHCC language and literature instructor Lynn Darroch will recount stories of some of his experiences with musicians through a type of stylized recitation Wednesday, Nov. 3, at noon in the Visual Arts Center Theater.

His words will be spoken to the improvisational harmonies of live musicians John Stowell (guitar) and Rob Davis (saxophone), while images are projected for illustration. The event, part of the Noon Reading Series, is free and will run until 1 p.m.

Darroch began telling his tales with jazz with an eight-member improvisational group called the Tone Sharks in spring 2003.

“It was there I developed an approach,” said Darroch. Since then he has written several stories about the musicians he has come in contact with. “It’s designed to be read with music,” he said. Alternately, the music is designed to enhance the story through properly timed emphasis.

Darroch will present four pieces, three of which are about musicians from his American Heroes series. He will also present a “more literary” piece called Silt. The stories range from five to 15 minutes.

Darroch is a long-standing contributor of features about musicians as well as various other culturally symbolic articles for The Oregonian and Willamette Week. “Every time I finish one for a newspaper or a magazine I feel dissatisfied,” said Darroch, “because I feel I have not told the real story.”
This tapestry of melody, image and oratory to be presented at Wednesday’s event is Darroch’s way of conveying the “real story.” The approach is different in many ways from a written article. One thing that Darroch especially enjoys is the opportunity to inject his experiences and ideas into the account. “The writer becomes a character in the story,” said Darroch.

Darroch said part of his idea in creating a new approach to storytelling came from “Peter and the Wolf,” in the way each character had a representative song. He also cites Ken Nordine’s “word jazz” as inspiration.

Jazz and literature are an ever-present part of Darroch’s life. He is editor of the Monthly Jazz Scene and recently wrote the epilogue for Jump Town, a history of jazz book by Robert Deitche to be published through OSU press in Spring 2005.

Darroch is also a musician and plays clarinet, saxophone and guitar. “Only as an amateur,” he emphasizes, though. His favorite is the clarinet, which he learned first.