Two continents. Two decades of craft.
Rooted in ancestry. Aimed at the future.
The third chapter of a critically acclaimed trilogy
that refuses to let the poem and the music be
anything but one indivisible voice.
NoteSpeak (In a Word) is the culmination of a trilogy released on Ropeadope that began at the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival, the largest literary festival in the world, and has since traveled to the Venice Biennale, and to stages across Italy, the US, India, and Europe.
During their residency at SUNY Oneonta, where they also recorded Spoken Standards, an album that includes a track made with the personal blessing of nikki giovanni. Simmons and Cremaschini conceived the songs that would become this third chapter. Supported by a grant from Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the album brings together an extraordinary constellation of collaborators, including Vernon Reid, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and The Flamingos, to examine how language, spoken and structural, shapes the world we inherit and the one we might yet build.
In July 2025, Lisa Marie Simmons brought NoteSpeak (In a Word) to Carnegie Hall, performing to a sold-out house alongside album collaborator Charu Suri and receiving a standing ovation. She returns to Carnegie Hall on November 13, 2026.
"Poetry and Jazz have been influencing each other for a long time. Lisa Marie Simmons draws on that rich history... flowing freely between singing and speaking, blurring the lines between poetry and music." J. Poet, Downbeat Magazine ★★★★★
"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." Louis Marks, CEO, Ropeadope Records
"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)
"NoteSpeak 12 is a lyrical album and an ensemble of centuries of the sonic lifeworlds of Black people... It travels to many places and takes the listeners with it." DJ Lynnée Denise, Artist, Scholar, Writer
“In the eclectic world of jazz and spoken word, Lisa Marie Simmons stands out as a performer and as a vanguard of heartfelt storytelling.” Allan Lane, dosage Magazine
“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.” Chris May- All About Jazz ★★★★
NoteSpeak (In a Word) · Ropeadope Records · 2025 "Worm in a Book," Jazz Finalist, John Lennon Songwriting Contest "Shaping The Yet-to-Be," Shortlisted, International Songwriting Competition, 2027 Nominee Best Spoken Word Album World Entertainment Awards
NoteSpeak 12 · Ropeadope Records · 2023 ★★★★★ Downbeat · Named One of Downbeat's Best Albums of 2023 Best Spoken Word Album, World Entertainment Awards 2024 ★★★★★ Jazzthetik Magazine
Premiered: Zee Jaipur Literature Festival Venice Biennale 2022, by invitation of Simone Leigh for her Loophole of Retreat SUNY Oneonta Artist-in-Residence Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy Travel Grant NUBLU, Manhattan · Prague · Italy Carnegie Hall debut, March 2025 · Return engagement, November 2026
The Touring Ensemble
Lisa Marie Simmons — Lead Vocal, Marco Cremaschini — Piano, Keyboards,
Manuel Caliumi — Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Federico Negri — Drums, Marco Cocconi — Electric Bass
Special Guests
Maurizio Giannone - Percussion, Christof Bernhard – Gong, Gillian Margot- Lead Vocals (Track 4), Jamaaladeen Tacuma – Bass (Track 5), Chanele McGuinness - Vocals (Track 5), Vernon Reid - Guitars (Tracks 7, 13), Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Flamingos (Theresa Trigg, the late Terry Isaiah Johnson) - Lead Vocals (Track 7), Charu Suri - Piano (Track 9), Dorian Holley – Lead Vocals (Track 12), Nayanna Holley – Lead Vocals (Track 12), Clare Murphy - Story (Track 13)
From the FYC Spoken Word Album NoteSpeak (In a Word)
Featuring Vernon Reid - guitarist, founding member of Living Colour, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
In loving memory of Terry Johnson - Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, founding member of The Flamingos,whose voice graces this recording in one of his final sessions.
Solid Ground (Meet Me There) Remix · Additional Mixing & Mastering by Mike Fuller
Fullersound, Inc. Grammy® Award-Winning Mastering Facility Fort Lauderdale, Florida · Est. 1986