Lisa Marie Simmons (Downbeat Magazine 5 Stars) Spoken Word Jazz Hybrid

From their home base in Lombardia, on the coast of Lake Garda in Italy, Lisa Marie Simmons and Marco Cremaschini share complementary creative skills as the lyrical and musical souls behind NoteSpeak: Poet, singer, and songwriter Simmons crafts and delivers the lyrics while Cremaschini directs the sounds swirling around her as co-composer, pianist, and musical director. In November 2019, they presented the debut NoteSpeak(Amore e Tragedie in Musica) in Italy, Austria and Prague. In January 2020, they brought NoteSpeak to India, performing on the Jaipur Music Stage. Ropeadope Records released their poetic/musical album NoteSpeak (Amori e Tragedie in Musica) in March 2020, which received a four-star review from Downbeat magazine. Lisa and Marco were invited to perform at the Biennale in Venice in October 2022 for artist Simone Leigh’s Loophole of Retreat: Venice, where they previewed material from their latest album NoteSpeak 12, which was released in February 2023 by Ropeadope, garnering a 5-star review from Downbeat magazine. 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 stellar players Federico Negri – Drums; Marco Cocconi - Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass, and Manuel Caliumi - Alto Saxophone, Soprano Sax. 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. 
 
“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 

"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 uses arresting lyrics and warm vocals to co-create the NoteSpeak 12 album with inventive artists and music director Marco Cremaschini. The music of this Italian-based band, billed as “global jazz hybrid,” defies category. Each eclectic song is its own galaxy within the Cremaschini-Simmons universe." Regina Harris Baiocchi - Composer, Author, Poet

"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 is top-end poetry and top-end jazz, so poet Lisa Marie Simmons and composer Marco Cremaschini set themselves a high bar. But they have succeeded, just like they did on the earlier album Notespeak: Amori e Tragedie In Musica (Ropeadope), a succès d'estime and something of a cult hit following its release in 2020. 4 Stars Chris May All About Jazz