Jazz Poetry Month at Alphabet City / City of Asylum

THURSDAY, September 10, 7:00 PM
Thoth Trio: Meditations on Quarantine 

Ben Opie (reeds); Paul Thompson (bass); and David Throckmorton (drums)

ft. Poets Richard Blanco, Asieh Amini, Joy Katz, & Natalie Diaz Run time: 75 minutes

Thoth Trio debuts their new work Meditations on Quarantine, a suite of five works composed by Ben Opie. Written entirely during the pandemic, the works are impressions of the composer’s experiences and interests throughout quarantine. This suite, written in a time of uncertainty, explores the outcomes when musicians are forced to innovate, re-examine, and push the boundaries of their creativity. 

For over fifteen years, Thoth Trio has been at the forefront of Pittsburgh’s creative music scene. Defined as intense acoustic jazz, Thoth Trio plays lively original music as well as devoting performances to the music of Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, and Ornette Coleman.

Musicians: Ben Opie (reeds); Paul Thompson (bass); and David Throckmorton (drums)

This program also features readings from national poets Natalie Diaz (right), Richard Blanco, Joy Katz, as well as Asieh Amini, an Iranian exiled writer-in-residence currently living in Norway. The poets will read new work, reflecting on the creativity of this moment on the intersection of isolation 

THOTH Trio - Paul Thompson, Ben Opie, David Throckmorton