Tuesday 25 June 2024

You'd be hard pressed to find a more important album than this as Gaspare Di Lieto takes 'A Journey Into Poetry with Sonia Sanchez, Amina Baraka, Genny Lim and Amiri Baraka and they all having something to say.

When you think of the conjunction of jazz and poetry, the obvious names of Jack Kerouac, Tom Waits and Gil Scot-Heron spring to mind.  More recently there's Anthony Joseph (as seen HERE) and Jasmin Tutum (as seen HERE) but here's some new names to us.

Picking just one track per performer out of this 11 track album, Sonia Sanchez ('Peace'), Amina Baraka ('Being Colored'), Genny Lim (the tribute to Abert Ayler, 'Shady Past') and Amiri Baraka's 'Afrika' are all superbly backed by Gaspare Di Lieto's band: Di Lieto (piano), Alfonso Deidda (soparano sax), Giuseppe Plaitano (tenor sax), Aldo Vigorito (bass), Tommaso Scannapieco (bass), Gaetano Fasano (drums) with the perfect jazz accompliment: particularly the spiritual blues of 'Shady Past' and Japanese peace garden of 'Monlam Chemo'.

As the poems talk, the sax(es) sing in perfect harmony/angst/spirit.

It's not the most easy or dance friendly album we'll hear this year, but it's likely to be more lasting, influential and important.

PS. Check out the lyrics/poems HERE.


Title: Gaspare Di Lieto meets Sonia Sanchez, Amina Baraka, Genny Lim & Amiri Baraka 
Title: A Journey Into Poetry
Release date: 30th April, 2024
Label : Notami Jazz.
Catalog Number :  
Format: Digital 

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