Recorded at Brooklyn's BRIC House,
The Brown Beatnik Tomes features bassist
Ron Carter collaborating with poet and painter
Danny Simmons in a live concert setting, transforming works from
Simmons' book Brown Beatnik Tomes into a stirring multimedia performance experience. The poems represent
Simmons' inspiration to update the style and voice of iconic beat authors like
Lawrence Ferlinghetti,
Jack Kerouac, and
Allen Ginsberg, but from a contemporary African-American perspective. In keeping with the coffeehouse style of the original beatniks, these are intimate acoustic performances in which
Simmons delivers his literate, evocative spoken-word poems as
Carter offers sympathetic walking bassline accents and bluesy grooves. The performance even included projections of the paintings
Simmons made to accompany the poems in his book. On the album, we get the declamatory "The Final Stand of Two Dick Willie," the tribute to the late writer
Amiri Baraka "For a Pistol," and the sensual "Tender." Also making an appearance is poet and activist Liza Jessie Peterson, who joins
Carter for a reading of her timely piece "Where Do I Begin," a composition that opens with a striking list of notable names, including Sandra Bland, Freddie Grey, Eric Garner, and other African-Americans who suffered violent deaths. All of these poems are deeply thoughtful and visually compelling, touching upon themes of racism, police brutality, spirituality, politics, and freedom. Also included are two instrumental performances featuring
Carter's trio with pianist
Donald Vega and guitarist
Russell Malone, including urbane renditions of "Here's to Oscar" and "There Will Never Be Another You." ~ Matt Collar