Where:
VIA Chizzoline
25080
SOIANO DEL LAGO
Italy
Description:
Lineup
(Touring Band)
Lisa Marie Simmons Lead Vocal, Lyrics, Composer; Marco Cremaschini Piano, Keyboards, Arrangements, Composer; Federico Negri - Drums
Marco Cocconi - Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass; Manuel Caliumi - Alto Saxophone, Soprano Sax
(On the album - available on request) Laura Masotto - Violin Denise Dimè - Vocals Ernest Ikwanga - Guitars Mauro Negri - Tenor Saxophone
Federico Pierantoni - Trombone Fulvio Sigurtà - Trumpet, Flugelhorn Donata Greco - Flute Weedie Braimah - Percussion Maurizio Giannone - Percussion
NoteSpeak 12 is a multi-leveled musical jazz hybrid. Building upon an underlying concept of unity and connection, the music for 12 explores the considerable distance between two disparate musical outposts – dodecaphonic (12-note scale) iconoclasts Schoenberg and Stockhausen to represent western culture, and AfroBeat to represent African culture – but also allows the musicians to play with freedom within these two pillars, and breathe their own creativity into the groove. Its lyrics, in substance and form (sonnets, free verse, rondeau prime and others) meditate upon the ubiquitous presence of the number 12 and its various worldly incarnations: In Islam, in Judeo-Christianity, in astrology, in physics, and its metaphysical representation of harmony, empathy, and unity.
Short BIO
Lisa Marie Simmons is a multi-disciplinary storyteller. She is a singer/songwriter (Ropeadope Records), essayist (Huffington Post, The Boston Globe, Kweli Journal, Jazzfuel), and published poet. Simmons was a speaker & performer at the 70th Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado in April 2018. In November 2019, she presented NoteSpeak (Amore e Tragedie in Musica) in Europe. In January 2020, Simmons presented NoteSpeak in India on the Jaipur Music Stage. Ropeadope Records released her poetic/musical album NoteSpeak (Amori e Tragedie in Musica) in March 2020, which received a four-star review from the iconic Downbeat magazine. In October 2021, she flew to Florida searching for her birth father with Angela Tucker and her Emmy Award-winning husband, Bryan Tucker. They shot a documentary that premiered in June 2022. Ropeadope Records also released her jazz standards album, Lisa Meets Gianni, with the legendary Gianni Cazzola in June. Angela and Lisa co-wrote an essay advocating for the rights of Black fathers for the Harvard Law Bill of Health digital symposium in May 2022. Lisa was invited to perform at the Biennale in Venice in October 2022 for artist Simone Leigh's Loophole of Retreat. Her poem “Last Supper” was shortlisted for a Creators of Justice Literary Award in November 2022. Her new album NoteSpeak 12, was released in 2023 by Ropeadope and was on Downbeat Magazine’s list for Best Albums of 2023. Lisa and her writing partner Marco Cremaschini were invited to be inaugural Artists in Residence at SUNY Oneonta in October and November of 2023 and won a travel grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Italia Music Export in support of their American debut of NoteSpeak 12 allowing them to tour on the East coast in the US in support of the album in November 2023. In 2024 NoteSpeak 12 won Best Spoken Word Album of 2023 from the World Entertainment Awards and “Transcend” has been shortlisted for Best Jazz Song by the International Songwriting Competition. "The Last Supper" and "Can We Agree" won Best Spoken Word singles in the One Earth Awards and NoteSpeak 12 is a finalist in 4 categories in the ISSA Awards. “Transcend” from NoteSpeak 12 was a 2024 nominee in the Jazz (Fusion/Bebop) category of the Hollywood Independent Music Awards.
NoteSpeak (Amori e Tragedie in Musica) Live performances
Cozmic Confusion Live in Jaipur, India
Chip Live in Milano
Reviews
"Beautiful and Powerful" - Giuseppe Saulo Rai Radio 3 "Battiti"
“Poetry and Jazz have been influencing each other for a long time. Lisa Marie Simmons, a poet, singer and composer, draws on that rich history for NoteSpeak 12... As with her previous efforts with the NoteSpeak ensemble, Simmons flows freely between singing and speaking/reciting, blurring the lines between poetry and music." 5 Stars J. Poet Downbeat Magazine April 2023
"Lisa Marie Simmons - Notespeak 12 A storyteller, an essayist and an impressive singer/songwriter, equipped with an expressive speaking and singing voice. The conclusion and the highlight of this Soul Voices!" 5 Stars Olaf Maikopf JAZZTHETIK Magazin, Münster DE
"NoteSpeak 12 finds Lisa Marie Simmons settling into a very relaxed groove with her partner, Marco Cremaschini. The interplay of the two, between poetry and music, feels like a dance with no need for choreography. Rather than poetry set to music or music that follows poetry, this is a conversation - about life, about love, about EVERYTHING - between the artists and the band. The words and the individual instruments all blur into a landscape of human experience, like sauntering through a cafe as conversations come and go." Louis Marks CEO Ropeadope, Director at The Ropeadope Cultural Center
“Notespeak 12 is a lyrical album and an ensemble of centuries of the sonic lifeworlds of Black people. I walked away, hearing new articulations of jazz that sounded like Zora Neal Hurston's words on the page. It's an ode to the sounds we make in community and punctuated by theatrical curiosity and professional knowledge expressed through well-attended craft. It travels to many places and takes the listeners with it. Notespeak 12 is a well-choreographed journey." DJ Lynnée Denise Artist, Scholar, Writer
"Lisa Marie Simmons has a powerful magnetizing voice for our time- for all time. Authentic and deeply committed."- Anne Waldman, author of Trickster Feminism (Penguin Poets).
"Note Speak stretches all boundaries with intriguing spoken word backed by an ambitious jazz ensemble, all with original compositions of poetry, prose, and musical wonder. Note Speak literally had the sold-out audience leaning into every word and every note during the entire show. The audience was wild for both the concept and the execution, craving more that is sure to come from this creative act." - Denis Budankov, Artistic Director International Jazz Festival hosted at Reduta Jazz Club Prague.
"Across NoteSpeak, the band's playing remains understated, granting Simmons' poetry the spotlight. Her words are full of internal rhymes, verbal inflections that move the rhythm in unexpected directions and juxtapositions of imagery that veer from predictable to wildly creative." Four Stars j.Poet Downbeat Magazine
"Musically and vocally, NoteSpeak consistently changes, shifting from style to style – acoustic jazz solos into hip-hop beats into harmonized gospel vocals into electronic jazz and fusion into free verse rhyming – and yet seems to constantly groove. Simmons' delivery swims in the deep waters connecting Nina Simone to Jill Scott, completely obliterating the line between vocalist and poetess: Warning like a mother lioness, whippersnapping through urban haunts, and curiously wondering about it all." - Chris M. Slawecki "All About Jazz."
"NoteSpeak performed at the closing of the literary festival JLF@Boulder and blew the lid off the house. They had the audience on their feet throughout the incredible 90-minute set! A pure treat!" - Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts. Co-founder and producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival
“Poetry and Jazz have been influencing each other for a long time. Lisa Marie Simmons, a poet, singer and composer, draws on that rich history for NoteSpeak 12... As with her previous efforts with the NoteSpeak ensemble, Simmons flows freely between singing and speaking/reciting, blurring the lines between poetry and music." 5 Stars J. Poet Downbeat Magazine April 2023
"Lisa Marie Simmons - Notespeak 12 A storyteller, an essayist and an impressive singer/songwriter, equipped with an expressive speaking and singing voice. The conclusion and the highlight of this Soul Voices!" 5 Stars Olaf Maikopf JAZZTHETIK Magazin, Münster DE
"NoteSpeak 12 finds Lisa Marie Simmons settling into a very relaxed groove with her partner, Marco Cremaschini. The interplay of the two, between poetry and music, feels like a dance with no need for choreography. Rather than poetry set to music or music that follows poetry, this is a conversation - about life, about love, about EVERYTHING - between the artists and the band. The words and the individual instruments all blur into a landscape of human experience, like sauntering through a cafe as conversations come and go." Louis Marks CEO Ropeadope, Director at The Ropeadope Cultural Center
“Notespeak 12 is a lyrical album and an ensemble of centuries of the sonic lifeworlds of Black people. I walked away, hearing new articulations of jazz that sounded like Zora Neal Hurston's words on the page. It's an ode to the sounds we make in community and punctuated by theatrical curiosity and professional knowledge expressed through well-attended craft. It travels to many places and takes the listeners with it. Notespeak 12 is a well-choreographed journey." DJ Lynnée Denise Artist, Scholar, Writer
"Lisa Marie Simmons has a powerful magnetizing voice for our time- for all time. Authentic and deeply committed."- Anne Waldman, author of Trickster Feminism (Penguin Poets).
"Note Speak stretches all boundaries with intriguing spoken word backed by an ambitious jazz ensemble, all with original compositions of poetry, prose, and musical wonder. Note Speak literally had the sold-out audience leaning into every word and every note during the entire show. The audience was wild for both the concept and the execution, craving more that is sure to come from this creative act." - Denis Budankov, Artistic Director International Jazz Festival hosted at Reduta Jazz Club Prague.
"Across NoteSpeak, the band's playing remains understated, granting Simmons' poetry the spotlight. Her words are full of internal rhymes, verbal inflections that move the rhythm in unexpected directions and juxtapositions of imagery that veer from predictable to wildly creative." Four Stars j.Poet Downbeat Magazine
"Musically and vocally, NoteSpeak consistently changes, shifting from style to style – acoustic jazz solos into hip-hop beats into harmonized gospel vocals into electronic jazz and fusion into free verse rhyming – and yet seems to constantly groove. Simmons' delivery swims in the deep waters connecting Nina Simone to Jill Scott, completely obliterating the line between vocalist and poetess: Warning like a mother lioness, whippersnapping through urban haunts, and curiously wondering about it all." - Chris M. Slawecki "All About Jazz."
"NoteSpeak performed at the closing of the literary festival JLF@Boulder and blew the lid off the house. They had the audience on their feet throughout the incredible 90-minute set! A pure treat!" - Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts. Co-founder and producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival
