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Lisa Marie Simmons

Words as music-Music as words.

About Me

Lisa Marie Simmons is a multi-disciplinary storyteller. She is a singer/songwriter (Ropeadope Records), essayist (Huffington Post, Boston Globe, Family Stories Project, Chicken Soup for the Soul), 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.

My Jazz Story

The first jazz recordings I heard featured Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans... How could one not be thoroughly seduced? Today's performers from Esperanza Spalding or Gregory Porter to Robert Glasper, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah to Jazzmeia Horn continue to fascinate and delight me.