Noted Fiction Writer Peter Cherches to Sing Jazz at Beyond Baroque on September 18

LOS ANGELES - May 26, 2015 - PRLog -- Publishers Weekly called him “one of the innovators of the short short story.” Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins said, “To Gödel, Escher, and Bach we might consider adding Peter Cherches.” Cherches, who has been publishing short fiction for nearly 40 years, has also been singing jazz and writing lyrics since the 1980s, and in the past year he has made this an artistic priority.

On Friday, September 18, at 8PM, Cherches will be bringing his words and music to Venice’s venerable Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, where he has previously read his fiction in 1983 and 2013. He will be accompanied by a group of L.A.-based musicians led by saxophonist David Leech. Included in the program will be Cherches’ original lyrics to the music of Thelonious Monk and other bebop composers as well as his additional lyrics and vocalese for a number of American standards.

Cherches will be joined on the program by Venice’s own Grammy-winning, Pulitzer-nominated performance poet Michael C Ford, who appeared with him at Beyond Baroque in 2013.

About Peter Cherches:  Peter Cherches is the author of Lift Your Right Arm (Pelekinesis, 2013) and two previous volumes of short prose, Condensed Book and Between a Dream and a Cup of Coffee. His new collection, Autobiography without Words, will be published by Pelekinesis in 2017. Cherches was active, on page and on stage, in the raucous and unpredictable literary, music and performance scenes of downtown Manhattan in the 1980s. Sonorexia, the avant-vaudeville music/performance group he co-led with Elliott Sharp, appeared at such venues as The Mudd Club and CBGB. In 1987 he presented his first all-jazz program, featuring his own lyrics for Thelonious Monk compositions, at Roulette, one of New York’s most-respected alternative music spaces. Cherches is a native of Brooklyn, New York. His music can be sampled at: https://petercherchesmusic.wordpress.com/

About Beyond Baroque: Founded in 1968, Beyond Baroque is one of the United States' leading independent Literary | ArtsCenters and public spaces dedicated to expanding the public's knowledge of poetry, literature and art through cultural events and community interaction. Many of the world’s most well-known independent artists, including Patti Smith, Michael McClure, Dana Gioia, and Viggo Mortensen have performed on its stage.

Beyond Baroque is at 681 Venice Blvd.,Venice, CA 90291; Ph: 310-822-3006; Fax: 310-821-0256; info@beyondbaroque.org. Admission is $10; $6 students/seniors.