We are delighted to announce that NoteSpeak (In a Word) is out now on Ropeadope. Available Wherever You Listen.
Short Bio
Lisa Marie Simmons is a multi-disciplinary storyteller: a singer/songwriter (Ropeadope), essayist (Huffington Post, The Boston Globe, Kweli Journal, Jazzfuel), and published poet currently based in Italy. She fronts NoteSpeak, a poetic/musical ensemble blending jazz, spoken word, and improvisation. NoteSpeak debuted at the Zee Jaipur Literature Festival in 2017, and since then, Lisa has presented the project in the U.S., Europe, and India.
In March 2020, NoteSpeak (Amori e Tragedie in Musica) was released by Ropeadope Records, receiving a four-star review from Downbeat magazine. Lisa’s journey also includes an emotional search for her birth father, documented in the 2022 film Lisa & Isell: A Story About Adoption and the Ghost Kingdom. Lisa co-wrote an essay with filmmaker Angela Tucker for the Harvard Law Bill of Health symposium, advocating for the rights of Black fathers.
Lisa also co-hosted the first season of DAWTA The Podcast, exploring transracial adoptee experiences. Her 2022 jazz standards album Lisa Meets Gianni with Italian drummer Gianni Cazzola was released by Ropeadope. Lisa’s poem “Last Supper” was shortlisted for a Creators of Justice Literary Award in 2022, and in October of the same year, she performed at the Venice Biennale for artist Simone Leigh’s Loophole of Retreat.
Her album, NoteSpeak 12, released in 2023, earned five stars from Downbeat and was featured on their Best Albums list. The album went on to win multiple awards, including Best Spoken Word Album from the World Entertainment Awards and recognition at the One Earth Awards. In 2024, the track “Transcend” was nominated at the Hollywood Independent Music Awards. Her song “Can We Agree” was a semi-finalist in The American Songwriters Song Contest. NoteSpeak 12 was a finalist in 4 categories in the ISSA Awards. From NoteSpeak (In a Word) – “Worm in a Book” was a 2025 Jazz finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and “Shaping The Yet-to-Be” was shortlisted in the International Songwriting Competition.
In 2024, Simmons collaborated with artist Phoebe Boswell on “Sentient I – VI”, a selection of drawings from Boswell’s ongoing Sentients series, recently exhibited in Wentrup Gallery’s 20-year anniversary show. Simmons provided a sonic response in the form of an ekphrastic poem, “Portraits in Paradox”, accompanied by pianist Marco Cremaschini.
In 2025, Lisa made her Carnegie Hall debut, performing alongside Charu Suri bringing NoteSpeak’s signature fusion of poetry and music to the iconic stage; she has been invited to return in November 2026. The third album in the NoteSpeak series, NoteSpeak (In a Word), was released on September 26, 2025, on Ropeadope.
Lisa’s work continues to push artistic boundaries while blending music, storytelling, and cultural exploration.
NoteSpeak on national radio:
Commuovere le stelle – Battiti Rai Radio 3
For the Millions – Battiti Rai Radio 3
You Can’t Rule Me – Battiti Rai Radio 3
A serendipitous event connected Hippie Tendencies to Amnesty’s #herestoyou campaign. The content of our Hippie Tendencies version of the song is what gave birth to “NoteSpeak”. You can see our performance for Amnesty here. We ask you to please listen to Roberto Saviano’s appeal as well as the final version of this tribute to Sacco and Vanzetti in the name of every victim of human rights violations. We invite you to, as Amnesty says, “take injustice personally”.
Quotes
“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).
“Beautiful and Powerful” – Giuseppe Saulo Rai Radio 3 “Battiti”
“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
“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
“A serene r&b groove opens ‘Chillax,’ introducing an album that blends poetry and jazz while speaking out against war, ignorance and racism….Across NoteSpeak, the band’s playing remains understated, granting Simmons’ poetry the spotlight. Her words are full of internal rhymes, verbal inflections that move the rhythm in unexpected directions and juxtapositions of imagery that veer from predictable to wildly creative. 4 stars.” – j. poet Downbeat Magazine
Press Photos
