Pzazz: An Afternoon of Poetry & Jazz

“Pzazz” Features Randy Napoleon & Trio of Poets

 Internationally-known jazz guitarist/composer and arranger Randy Napoleon will join poets Dennis Hinrichsen, Jay Artemis Hull, andDavid James at “Pzazz, an afternoon of poetry and jazz” on Sunday, September 13, 2026, 4-6pm, atUrbanBeat, 1213 Turner Street (https://www.google.com/maps/search/1213+Turner+Street?entry=gmail&source=g) in Old Town Lansing. Tickets at the door: $10 regular, $5 students.

 Randy Napoleon is a virtuoso jazz guitarist/composer and arranger who performs both nationally and internationally. Currently, he serves as Assoc. Director of Jazz Studies and Assoc. Professor at MSU, as well as the artistic director of the East Lansing Jazz Festival. He has performed or arranged on over 70 records. His 13th record as a leader will be released this year.

 Dennis Hinrichsenpublished dementia lyrics, his twelfth book of poems earlier this year from Green Linden Press. His previous books include Dominion + Selected Poems, Flesh-plastique and schema geometrica. From 2017-2019, he served as the first Lansing Poet Laureate.

 Jay Artemis Hull is an occult experience and children’s librarian. They are mostly interested in ephemera. As such, you can find their work scattered in places that hold a unique resonance for them: local projects and anthologies, handmade zines and broadsides, and in the monthly poetry workshop they run.

 David James has published ten books of poetry; his most recent is The Cup of Living from Main Street Rag Press in 2026. He worked in higher education for forty-five years before serving as the president of the Poetry Society of Michigan from 2022-2026. More than forty of his one-act plays have been produced in the U.S., Ireland and England.

 Lois Mummaw, the past president and a founding member of the Jazz Alliance of Mid- Michigan, will host the event, along with Ruelaine Stokes, Lansing Poet Laureate Emerita.

 Pzazz is underwritten by Gregg Hill and Cold Plunge Records, with support from Terry Terry and UrbanBeat.

Tickets: $10 General Admission. $5 Students
Doors open at 3. Show starts at 4. 

Dinner and drink menus are available.