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Some of you know that, in addition to writing songs, I’ve also been writing poetry all along. In the summer of 2019 I entered the Celery City Chapbook Contest, sponsored by the Friends of Poetry in Kalamazoo, Michigan. My manuscript, “Masks & Blessings” was chosen as one of the winners in this state-wide competition, and the chapbook is now available.
The title of the chapbook refers to the various personality masks we wear much of the time, and the blessings of those magical moments when the masks fall and we get a glimpse of the highest and best in ourselves and each other. The poems in “Masks & Blessings” explore this theme through story-poems from various perspectives.
The first poem in the chapbook is called “Strangers”, and you can read it — or listen to it — where it was first published in Rattle Magazine.
Receiving the Shore is a collaboration bringing together poetry by Jennifer Burd and musical settings of those pieces by Laszlo Slomovits. The ten longer poems in the book are interspersed with meditative haiku sequences and evocative drawings by artist Melanie Boyle. The accompanying CD includes song settings for all the poems, sung and accented with folk flutes by Laszlo. Read more...
Jelaluddin Rumi, 13th Century Sufi mystic, is considered by many to be the world's greatest spiritual poet. His powerful poems on the longing of human beings for reunion with the divine, on the many-faceted mysteries of love, and of encouragement on the spiritual path, have inspired countless people for centuries. Read more...
Hafiz, 14th Century Sufi mystic, is the most beloved poet of Persia. It is said that there may be some homes in Iran that do not contain the Koran, but no home is without the Divan (Collected Poems) of Hafiz. There is a tradition that on every Nourouz (New Year’s Day in Iran, which coincides with the Spring Equinox) people open Hafiz’s Divan at random and whatever poem they open to gives them a message to focus on for the year. Read more...
This is Laz’s second CD of his original musical settings of Rumi’s poetry. (See above for information about Give Light, Laz’s 2007 release of his first Rumi CD.) Once again, working with distinuished poet and translator, Coleman Barks’ award-winning versions, Laz has set to music 15 classic Rumi poems. Mystical love lyrics, as well as powerful words of encouragement on the spiritual path, these poems uplift and inspire, and the music makes them even more memorable and accesible. Read more...
This is the fourth CD in Laz’s series of Rumi / Hafiz poems set to music. Working from Daniel Ladinsky’s four books of translations (The Gift, I Heard God Laughing, The Subject Tonight Is Love, and Love Poems From God) Laz has rendered into song poems by Hafiz, Rumi, Rabia, Mira and Kabir — poet saints of the ancient East. These are timeless poems that transcend cultures and religions, and they continue to inspire and guide people all over the world, 500-1200 years after they were written. Read more...
This is the fifth CD in Laz’s series of Rumi / Hafiz poems set to music. Working with the magnificent translations of the much-celebrated poet Coleman Barks, Laz has rendered into song poems by Rumi, Hafiz, Lalleshwari and Sanai — poet saints of the ancient East. These are timeless poems that transcend cultures and religions, and they continue to inspire and guide people all over the world, 500-900 years after they were written. Read more...
This compelling collaboration began in 2006 when award-winning poet Linda Nemec Foster first viewed the work of photographer Jacko Vassilev. His portfolio, “The Dance of Zlatio Zlatev,” appeared in Harper’s Magazine and gave visual testimony to the impoverished and marginalized people of Eastern Europe. Vassilev’s haunting portraits inspired Foster to write a sequence of poems, Ten Songs from Bulgaria, that was published by Cervena Barva Press in 2008. When Laz read Foster’s chapbook in 2011, he was immediately drawn to the poems as lyrics for songs, and began composing music for them: Cry of Freedom is the result of this partnership of art, poetry, and music. Read more...
This is the chapbook of the ten powerful poems that are set to music in the CD, “Cry of Freedom.” (For more information, please see above.)
Helen Forslund Slomovits, Laz's wife, passed away in July of 2012. She had played flute on nearly all of Gemini's recordings, as well as on all of Laz's solo CDs. In addition, she had her own solo CD, featuring her songwriting, singing, and instrumental compositions for flute and harp. This is what she wrote about her vision for this music:
These songs and instrumentals were written with a healing intent. Together they form a magical weaving of light and dark, of sound and silence, of rainbow colors — feeling hues. They're meant to take you on a journey of exploration within a circle of safety. I invite you to come with me into this circle of sound.
Hear the ancient, indigenous music and made-from-nature instruments of the Andes (panpipes, agave drums, and seed-pod shakers) woven together with Celtic harp, guitar, flute and violin, and the song-writing tradition of North American folk music. This CD is the fruit of the connection between two families — The Slomovits family of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Santillán family of Agato, Ecuador — brought together by a shared love of music and a desire to contribute to harmony and healing in the world. Read more...
Children will enjoy this solo recording by Laz, with its lively rhythms, variety of instruments, and positive messages, but Harbor of the Heart is especially meant for parents, teachers, and other adults who care for children. Imagine your favorite motivational speaker or inspirational writer breaking into song, singing to encourage and uplift you — Harbor of the Heart was written with this intention. Including songs about perseverance, generosity, and giving to oneself in order to be able to give to others, Harbor of the Heart reminds us of, and strengthens us in the power we each have to make a difference.
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