Baraka, Amina / The Red Microphone - Amina Baraka & The Red Microphone
SKU
05-ESPDISK 5021CD
Amina Baraka - words, lead vocals
Ras Moshe Burnett - tenor saxophone, flute, percussion
Rocco John Iacovone - curved soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, piano
John Pietaro - musical direction, drums, percussion
Laurie Towers - bass guitar
"Amina Baraka speaks truth and spits fire when she reads her poetry. She is a warm and friendly person, but keeps a metal shovel by her front door in case of trespassers. She is a devoted Communist. She is vast, she contains multitudes. After decades in the shadow of her late husband, poet and playwright Amiri Baraka, Amina is about to raise her profile in the company of The Red Microphone, four musicians who are fellow fighters in the struggle for equality for all. Not that she hasn't been getting her poetry published all those years, but, generally, poets who add music to the mix can transcend category boundaries and reach more listeners. And this is some powerful music, inside/outside jazz, created in the moment, but occasionally building on a composition by group member Rocco John Iacovone, the cadences of Baraka's words intertwining with the rhythms of the music to become more than the sum of its parts."