Artist : Ken Nordine
Album Reviewed : Colors
Produced By : Asphodel Records

Ever feel bad about missing out on the beat poet raves of the twenties and fifties? Well, it’s never too late to be a true hipster, thanks to Asphodal Records, who revived Ken Nordine under the impression (correct, I believe) that the new music crew, always desperate for a different sound, would leap onto Nordine in an instant.

My first exposure to Ken Nordine was a piece he did with DJ Food (The Aging Young Rebel), and it helped prepare me for colors. Ken Nordine enjoys what he refers to as ‘word jazz’ and what I like to describe as ‘surrealist poetry’. It’s all metaphor. That’s the trick. At best the mood and meter of his works might attempt to create an emotional tie to the thing described, if indeed any specific thing is described.

Ken Nordine has been a name among television and radio advertisement for decades. When you hear his spoken word, the reason for this becomes clear. He has a rich, full, clear voice that at the same time seems very friendly, comfortable, the kind of voice you want reading stories to your children. Indeed, story has it that Colors originally started as a series of advertisements for a paint company. The response was so great that it became an art project in and of itself, which I think is an excellent turn about. I mean, commercialism selling out to art? How often does that happen?

‘Colors’ enjoys 34 great tracks, all spoken word revolving around light, classical jazz backgrounds courtesy of Dick Cambell and trio. The music and monologue paint a vague emotional landscape illuminating each color independently, so while the style remains the same, the emotion is always of a different hue. It’s my favorite kind of thing, art for art’s sake.