Jazz Poets Society

Jazz Poets Society is a band that grew out of a Richmond, Virginia poetry collective that was sparked by Patrick Mamou in the early 1990's. From informal poetry sessions in a tiny downtown apartment, JPS emerged as a potent and energetic force in the local scene. The Underground Railroad (a Richmond, VA poetry club) was the bands laboratory, its home, its catalyst, and even its meal ticket. It is clear now (looking back) that "The Underground" was critical to the band's success and instrumental in molding the band's sound and identity. During these early days, JPS, like the new poetry movement itself, was still seeking to define itself, so things were fluid to say the least. After numerous, rapid lineup changes, the focus shifted off of the poetry, somewhat, and "Hip Hop with a live band", (a band that now had permanent members), became the standard of the group from then on. The main core of three poets (Patrick, Martin, and Nyaze) became JPS's public faces and the leaders of the group. The musicians that made up the rest of the band (a band which eventually came to be known collectively as Jim Thorne) usually included (at least) a rhythm section, with the occasional addition of female vocalists, keyboards, auxiliary percussion, and horns. By the time JPS finally got around to making its first full-length album, its members included the lineup that you'll find on all of their CDs. JPS was politically and socially conscious. With songs like "What if" (Lyrics -"What if...Rosa Parks had a car? What if..Jesus Christ was a superstar, What if... we didn't imitate Escobar, What if...Rosa Parks had a car?), they played a mix of jazz and hip hop at colleges, clubs, and other venues throughout the US in support of the new album. The only lineup change that occurred after they put out their first album was the loss of their bass player Eddie Prendergast who decided to leave JPS for a salsa band called Bio Ritmo right as JPS was going into planning for their second album. Eddie was quickly replaced by Joel Bennet and (aside from a few extended hiatuses) the band's members remained the same until the end of the group in 2001. Jazz Poets Society released two albums, got significant airplay on college and independent radio stations, did three major tours (along with promo appearances on TV and radio), and shot and released one music video that aired on BET and other music video outlets.