Jazz Articles about Marco Cocconi

About Marco Cocconi

Album Review

Lisa Marie Simmons: NoteSpeak (In a Word)

Read "NoteSpeak (In a Word)" reviewed by Acacia Grace

by Acacia Grace
August 26, 2026

Lisa Marie Simmons has a story to tell, and she tells it through melody, harmony, spoken word, lively woodwinds, jazz-inflected instrumentation, and a cast of special guests in NoteSpeak (In a Word). This is a unique vocal project, one that feels as much like a work of jazzy poetry and storytelling as it does a traditional album. And Simmons has a way with words throughout the entire project. For NoteSpeak (In a Word)there is a lot happening ...

Album Review

Lisa Marie Simmons: Notespeak 12

Read "Notespeak 12" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
March 3, 2023

Poetry & Jazz has a checkered history. When combined, the two art forms are not so much a marriage made in heaven as an obstacle course. The biggest danger is that one of them is verbal and the other is non-verbal and at its best transcends words. The second danger is that the better the poetry and/or the jazz in question, the more intrusive may be their competing demands for the listener's attention. Notespeak 12 is top-end poetry ...