Auburn's "come here once and fall in love" atmosphere has been discovered by newcomers for generations. Jason Crane jumped on the bandwagon after his summer visit and is already planning a return.
Crane, a 39-year-old Massachusetts-born interviewer and poet, visited Auburn in July on his "Jazz or Bust" tour and said he fell in love with it. \0x10The Gnu's Room welcomed him back Friday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. for a poetry reading.
"I came to Auburn this summer having never been here before," Crane said. "I didn't really know anything about Auburn at all. It took less than a day to realize this was someplace I wanted to come back to. The people, the environment, the pace of life -- they all make Auburn a very special place."
Crane hosted the online show "The Jazz Session," of which he has produced more than 400 episodes since 2007.
\0x10The show features in-depth interviews with some of jazz's most respected contemporary names, such as Sonny Rollins, Marian McPartland and Vijay Iyner.
His "Jazz or Bust" tour ran from June through September and saw him travel the country, and even Canada, as he found jazz artists to interview in their hometowns as well as venues where he could hold poetry readings.
\0x10The tour was well-received by music critics, drawing coverage from NPR, the Village Voice and countless local blogs and papers.
"Jason's poetry speaks to our common experiences," said Tina Tatum, owner of
\0x10The Gnu's Room. "Folks really seemed to connect to him when he was here before, and I think anyone who missed hearing him read last time should not miss their second opportunity."
Crane called an end to the "\0x10The Jazz Session" in September after five years and more than 2,000,000 downloads.
He said he's going to Santa Fe, N.M. later this month to spend time meditating at a Zen Buddhist center, after which he'd like to return to Auburn and work on a book about his travels, which will include his recent tour and his experiences living all over the U.S. and Japan.
All 400 plus episodes of his show are available at thejazzsession.com.
Crane's first collection of poems, "Unexpected Sunlight," was published in 2010 by Foot-Hills Publishing, an independent poetry press in New York State.
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