By integrating spoken word, jazz, history and politics, UpSurge! jazz poets Raymond Nat Turner and Zigi Lowenberg were bending metaphors at Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse.
The two took center stage last Saturday at the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse, a green state-of-the-art folk music venue in downtown Berkeley.
This coffeehouse has dedicated itself to promoting public awareness to the understanding of music rooted in various ethnic groups and cultures.
Its sound system is superb and the seating area is spacious, comfortable and allows you to see the performers on stage with ease.
Be it jazz, blues, bluegrass, folk, gospel or world beat, this nonprofit community art organization is a world famous venue for traditional music.
The UpSurge! Jazz/Poetry Ensemble featuring Turner and Lowenberg was the first performance lined up for the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse’s October calendar.
This Oakland-based Jazz Ensemble paid homage to jazz vocalist Eddie Jefferson and actor, playwright, and civil rights activist Oscar Brown, Jr.
Joined by Richard Howell on saxophones, Benny Watson on piano, Rob Rhodes on drums, Ollen Erich Hunt on bass and guest vocalist Ernest East, the experience and energy brought together onstage crossed boundaries and brought down barriers.
The performance started with Turner doing a call to the ancestors with Lowenberg’s smooth melodic voice rhythmically echoing, backed by drums hitting to the beat, followed by piano and bass. The sweet sounds of the saxophone had a hypnotic effect on the audience.
UpSurge! presented a unique fusion of eclectic jazz and fierce poetry. Their innovative poetics were juxtaposed with the politics of today as they value the art form as a hammer for change.
Turner, the founder of this multiethnic group, is originally from South Central and Watts Los Angeles. He, alongside co-leader Lowenberg, a New York Jewish visual artist, created a stunning movement of unity.
“They are spectacular,” said Eileen Joyce, a patron of the arts. “Not only were they just saying words, but I could feel the emotion from the music.”
Turner founded the group in 1990 and Lowenberg started performing with him as a guest poet in 1993, then joined forces with UpSurge! in 1996 as co-leader.
“I was influenced by Bunchie Carter, a Los Angeles Black Panther Party, poet and mentor,” said Turner. “The force and impact he had on me with his poetry was great.”
As a child, Turner remembers his mother reading him nursery rhymes and singing lullabies to him. His life was inundated with poetry and books.
“There always were jazz musicians around,” said Turner.
Lowenberg was raised in Queens and then relocated to the Bay Area from East Village in Manhattan. She comes from a family in which the women were heavily involved in politics.  Her mother was involved in fair housing issues and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
From New York, Boston, New Orleans, Detroit, Chicago, and Ghana, West Africa, the ensemble has performed together nationally and internationally, collaborating across disciplines of jazz, poetry, history and politics.
“Raymond and Zigi have such respect for the words and tradition,” said Benny Watson, piano player with UpSurge! “It’s really a pleasure working with them.”