"The American civic poet . . . strives not only to speak to us with vigor and sympathy in our common language, but also to reveal how crucial that language is to our struggles and hopes as citizens. Pinsky is our finest living specimen of this sadly rare breed, and the poems of “Gulf Music” are among the best examples we have of poetry’s ability to illuminate not only who we are as humans, but who we are — and can be — as a nation.” - The New York Times

Cambridge, MA--Cambridge resident and three time U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky will present "Poem Jazz Con Salsa," at Regattabar, Saturday, January 18. Shows will be at 7:30 and 9:30 PM. Regattabar is located in the Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge. It's a jazz show. It's a poetry happening. It's uniquely its own thing. Poetry, Percussion and Live Improvisational Jazz.

Robert Pinsky's newest book of poems, entitled Proverbs of Limbo, was published in May, 2024. His newest album of the same title featuring pianist Laurence Hobgood, bassist John Lockwood, cellist Catherine Bent, saxophonist, flutist and singer Stan Strickland and percussionist Mino Cinélu was released in September 2023.

Critic, historian, arts advocate and Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Boston University, Harvey Young will offer introductory remarks at these performances. Harvey Young is a cultural historian whose research on the performance and experience of race has been widely published in academic journals and profiled in major newspapers and magazines. As a commentator on popular culture, he has appeared on CNN, 20/20 and Good Morning America as well as within the pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe,Vanity Fair and People Magazine.

Young has published nine books, including Embodying Black Experience, winner of “Book of the Year” awards from the National Communication Association and the American Society for Theatre Research. His tenth book, Theatre & Human Flourishing was published in early 2022 by Oxford University Press.  

The band will feature Music Director and pianist Laurence Hobgood, bassist John Lockwood, cellist Catherine Bent, saxophonist, flutist and singer Stan Strickland. These shows will also be highlighted by the brilliant Cuban drummer Francisco Mela.

Francisco José Mela is a master drummer and percussionist who has performed with a wide array of prominent international Latin and jazz artists including Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz JoAnne Brackeen, Jane Bunnett, Regina Carter, Anat Cohen, Paquito D'Rivera, George Garzone, Larry Grenadier, Stefon Harris, Lionel Loueke, Joe Lovano, Jason Moran, John Patitucci, John Scofield, Esperanza Spalding, Mark Turner, McCoy Tyner, Chucho Valdés, Kenny Werner and many others.

Robert released a new album last year, Proverbs of Limbo: PoemJazz III (2023). The album features Laurence Hobgood, Stan Strickland, John Lockwood and Mino Cinélu.

“The word ‘limbo’ means a border,” Pinsky says. “I like borders. The mix of energies, even when a border may scare me, also inspires me. The clashes and likenesses between things— among cultures, people, beliefs, languages, past and present— can be horrible or wonderful. Or both, mostly! My poems and I have been formed by improvised mixtures, beginning with the New Jersey Shore borderlands where I grew up.”