Kyle Montgomery
Audio By Carbonatix
Every third Thursday of the month in the heart of Bishop Arts, jazz fusion band D-CLAIM transforms the indie bookstore and cafe The Wild Detectives into a poetry paradise.
The founder of D-CLAIM, JD Debris, formed the band while at Southern Methodist University. As an alumnus of NYU with a Master’s of Fine Arts and Creative Writing, Debris formed D-CLAIM’s humble beginnings while interviewing for the Writer in Residence fellowship at SMU.
“It was an idea I floated, a dream project,” Debris says. “At SMU, I was able to make the connections with Project Poëtica to get this off the ground… I got connected to Manny Galindo first, and from there, Manny put some names out there, and we connected with other musicians. Just been rolling from there.”
The contemporary electric jazz band features different poets every month. Debris says that some poets like to put together a cohesive set, while others just want to free-read. The collective tries to match each poet’s vision, giving them a “compatible arc” to the soundtrack that the band provides.
“We are not necessarily playing the traditional accompaniment for those forms by any means; we are not even playing traditional jazz,” Debris says. “Those art forms are always evolving and we want to be part of that evolution.”
Debris aims to create the kind of spark that allows the poetic medium to evolve while also giving jazz new material — a symbiotic exploration. And although the band is electric, they share a “lowkey, loungier and quieter setup” to complement the coziness of The Wild Detectives.
Kyle Montgomery
Keeping the Faith
When conceptualizing the band, Debris was inspired by his mentor, NYU professor and acclaimed American poet, Yousef Komunyaka, whose poetry weaves together personal narratives, jazz rhythms and vernacular to create visually complex images of peace and war.
“Yousef gave me some tips that I still carry with me: Keep the faith, and time is always part of the equation, so don’t be afraid to wait and let things marinate.”
Sebastian Páramo, SMU assistant teacher for the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, is among the featured poets who have shared the stage with D-CLAIM. Páramo first heard about Debris’ work when the latter began his fellowship at SMU.
“It turned out he’d read some of my work, and I started to read some of his work… as soon as he moved to Dallas, we started connecting over poetry, and he shared his vision for this series that he was going to put together,” Páramo says. “So he decided to feature me as one of the first poets.”
Páramo says that when the show was first being organized, Debris had already picked some of Páramo’s poems in mind and began working out melodies and riffs to go with each one.
“The band was just starting… so I think this first rehearsal was one of the first times that they’d all come together,” Páramo says. “I just read some of my poems, and then they tried out the riffs that JD had planned, then we only did that one rehearsal and did the show.”
A Place for Poets
Páramo’s love for poetry began at a young age, but it took him time to explore his journey with the art form.
“I didn’t have a lot of stories that were shared with me from my family; they were kind of very quiet and didn’t want to cause too much of a fuss,” Páramo says. “They’re Mexican immigrants, and they became citizens here, so they were all work and not much story.”
Despite not growing up with stories passed down, Páramo went in search of his own.
“My journey to poetry is about kind of excavating my personal history, my family history, and then finding my way into making my own story,” Páramo says.
Though the poet has only performed with D-CLAIM once, Páramo has made it his mission to return to the monthly showcase as an audience member to support Debris and the broader Dallas poetry community.
Another poet who has collaborated with D-CLAIM is Dallas native and visual artist Xxavier Carter. Also an alum of SMU, Carter received his Master’s in Art before connecting with Debris through a colleague. Almost as soon as the two met, Carter developed an appreciation for Debris’ proficiency in poetry.
“We had one day of rehearsal, and when we did the performance, there were around four pieces and some improvisation,” Carter says. “We really just worked off each other’s groove… the process was efficient.”
The show’s focus on collaboration allowed Carter to build on his own voice as a poet, as he praises Debris and the other band members as a “true band.”
“I read the poems in rehearsal, found a few that worked, took some out, and kind of developed the set list,” Carter says. “They gave me a good breath, like a good birth to move the words around and kind of do it my way.”
Ultimately, Debris wants to continue to the stage with poets like Carter and Páramo not only to foster rich, creative collaboration but to pay it forward, one poem at a time.
“I’m not coming from a real privileged background; I was a non-traditional student and part of the working class,” Debris says. “I’m not coming from a place of privilege, but I have been given great opportunities, so I want to, in my own humble ways, continue to pass those opportunities around.”
D-CLAIM’s next performance will feature April Sojourner Truth Walker at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, at The Wild Detectives.
