Lisa Marie Simmons is an American multi-disciplinary storyteller, known for her work as a singer/songwriter, essayist, and published poet. In 2018, she spoke at the 70th Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado. Her project NoteSpeak (Amori e Tragedie in Musica) debuted in Europe in 2019 and was released by Ropeadope in 2020, earning a 4-star review from Downbeat. In 2021, a documentary about her search for her birth father was released. Lisa’s jazz standards album, Lisa Meets Gianni, came out in 2022. In 2023, she was the inaugural Artist in Residence at SUNY Oneonta, and NoteSpeak 12 won Best Spoken Word Album at the World Entertainment Awards in 2024.
Lisa Marie Simmons has released her captivating new album, “NoteSpeak (In a Word),” featuring 13 thought-provoking tracks. The journey begins with “Intro,” a mellifluously stunning piece where lush keyboard melodies create a rich backdrop for deep, commanding verses. The theme centers on creation and the origin of existence through a feminine cosmic force, beautifully blending mythology, spirituality, and poetic imagination.
In this piece, a divine, mother-like entity births the universe, not through logic or structure, but through movement, sound, and language. Vivid imagery such as “swirling eddies,” “dark black lips,” and “song wrapping around intention” conveys the idea that creation is both chaotic and intentional, merging energy and emotion in a profound way.
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Next is “Shaping the Yet-to-Be,” a stunning jazz masterpiece characterized by amazing saxophone work and gorgeous keyboard arrangements. This track invites you to sway slowly, perhaps with a glass of wine in hand. Around the 2:30 mark, spoken-word female vocals introduce a new layer of depth. The theme focuses on ancestral connection, the continuity of love, and the preservation of history through oral tradition and song.
It evokes the image of a griot, a traditional West African storyteller, historian, and musician, who carries the wisdom and memory of generations. Through the griot’s voice, the poem celebrates the unbroken lineage between past, present, and future, reminding listeners that they are part of a vast continuum of humanity and love.
The track “Intent” dives deeper into the power of language as both a weapon and a tool for renewal. It meditates on whether humanity, particularly within the context of American history, can transcend its violent linguistic and cultural inheritance. The piece opens by questioning if we are bound by history’s brutality, examining the “vernacular” of domination and conquest that has shaped the nation’s identity.
Imagery such as “skyscrapers over graveyards” and “skeletons under sidewalks” evokes the hidden violence beneath progress, suggesting that modern success is literally and linguistically built on death and erasure. However, the piece evolves into a call for transformation. Through the metaphor of language as a “grappling hook tossed into a sea of possibility,” it envisions words as tools for liberation, healing, and reimagining human connection.
“NoteSpeak (In a Word)” is an innovative album that merges genres like jazz, Afrofuturism, dodecaphony, and electronica with spoken word poetry. It delves into the power of language to connect people and foster empathy. Each track tells a unique story, highlighting different facets of the human experience and emphasizing our shared bond with each other and the Earth. The themes cover a wide range, from environmental sustainability and preservation to social unity and resilience during challenging times.
The album features a diverse group of collaborators from various backgrounds, including guitar legend Vernon Reid, funk musician Jamaaladeen Tacuma, genre-bending vocalist Gillian Margot, singer-songwriters Chanele McGuinness and Nayanna Holley (along with her father, Dorian Holley, who directed vocals for Michael Jackson), the iconic doo-wop ensemble The Flamingos, and Irish storyteller Clare Murphy, among others.
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Instead of focusing on a single issue, the album blends themes of environmental responsibility, peace, and social justice, illustrating that these concerns are interconnected aspects of a global challenge. With influences ranging from ancestral insights to imaginative futures, it encourages listeners to recognize the links between personal and planetary healing. Similar to their previous work, Spoken Standards, which featured Nikki Giovanni’s poem “Resignation” with her permission, “NoteSpeak (In a Word)” aspires to provoke thought about how our individual actions impact the broader world.
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