Artie Shaw Plays Carnegie Hall, Christmas 1938
High Society Swings
By Stephanie Wood Miller © 2019
They arrive
Dressed in black tie
Dazzling gowns
Murmuring, humming
Bussing with energy
All of the sparkling society
Well-dressed moths of the flame
Finding their seats
They settle
Silence spreads
Where Toscanini once trod
Krupa lays down a relentless beat
The bleeding, syncopated heart of the band
Trombones and then trumpets blare
Finally the king with his magic scepter
Mesmerizes New York Society
Unable to resist
Their toes tap
The heart beats on
Jazz seeps into their starched, bleached bones
They surrender
To their newly anointed, eternal king