Marty Matz "Pipe Dreams"
Marty Matz was a great poet of the Beat generation, but he wasn't a Beat. He was more of an ecstatic, a euphoric, a psychedelic. Marty was prodigal, living in Thailand, Mexico, California, all over the place. He missed the fame of his own generation of poets while living the life of an ex-pat.
Eventually he returned to New York, where I had the rich experience of being close to him during the last few years of his life. Marty loved music, even more so than his fellow poets. He performed his poems to music with the soulful impact of a great singer. He loved doing music & spoken word with me & Deep.
The link below takes you to the last recording Marty made in his life, in August 2001 at Bob Yarra's apartment in the Lower East Side. It is the first 3 poems from his Pipe Dreams cycle, opium poems written in Thailand in the late '80s. The accompanists are myself on sitar, Deep Singh on tabla, Marlon Cherry on djembe, and Rima Fand on violin.
The recording needed a little work, which I've just completed. I've been thinking about this wonderful character and missing him dearly. Enjoy this window into a strange and beautiful world view and time past. There are 3 more recordings of us performing the rest of the Pipe Dreams cycle; I will work on them in time.
Click here to hear PIPE DREAMS 1-3: Marty_Pipe_Dreams_1.mp3
I try to honor Marty by living the aesthetic he represented to whatever degree I can. It's not easy in the present. The world has changed so much. It will continue to change, for better or worse. This piece is a little slice of art history captured so we can remember beauty that came before. - Chris Rael