What was the initial spark that led you to expand the NoteSpeak trilogy into this final chapter, “In a Word”?
The urgency of these troubled times was speaking to us, loudly and insistently. We were watching the world fracture, white supremacy reasserting itself, ecological disaster accelerating, empathy eroding, and we felt compelled not just to name what we saw but to trace it back to its roots. Language is one of the most powerful roots we have, both spoken and structural, intimate and systemic. The phrase ‘in a word’ is itself a kind of dare. Can we distill it? Can we find a thread that connects it all? I couldn’t stop at one word, of course. I never can. But the searching is the point.
How do you and Marco Cremaschini navigate blending such a wide spectrum of genres without losing a central sonic identity?
Marco and I are deeply committed to growth alongside discovery, yet we and our alchemy remain the same. The genres change, but the conversation between us stays constant. Marco’s piano is the whole grains, sturdy and nourishing, and I’m the seasoning, sometimes cayenne, sometimes honey. Whatever we fold in, that fundamental flavor doesn’t change. We trust each other completely, and that trust is the sonic identity.
Several tracks feature major collaborators from very different musical worlds — how do you decide what each guest should bring to a piece?
We are always informed by their prior work, which is precisely why we sought them out in the first place. We listen deeply, then build a sonic world where each collaborator can feel at home while also leaving them room to stretch. We’re not interested in using people as ornaments. Every collaborator on this album brought their lived experience to the table, and that’s what we wanted: the whole person, the whole history, not just the instrument or the voice.
“Solid Ground (Meet Me There)” carries particular emotional weight given Terry Isaiah Johnson’s contribution — how did that track evolve in the studio?
It came about in my favorite fashion, kismet. I was visiting my brother in Las Vegas when I met Terry and Theresa Johnson, and we all recognized each other instantly, as if we’d known each other all our lives. They told their stories, I shared mine, and we saw ourselves in one another. I called Marco and said, “We need to write a song with The Flamingos”. Then my friend Mare-Claire Giraud introduced me to Vernon Reid, whom I have deeply admired for many years. I sent him demos and asked him to choose what he’d like to play on. He immediately gravitated toward ‘Solid Ground.’ What followed was a true meeting of creative minds. The Flamingos brought timeless, lush harmonies that rooted the song in legacy, and Vernon Reid’s guitar added fire and intensity. Each collaborator contributed their expertise, so the track became, as the best ones do, something significantly bigger than any one of us. We’ll be releasing a remix this summer, and I cannot wait for people to hear it.
Do you see “NoteSpeak (In a Word)” as a conclusion to the trilogy, or more of a transition into a new direction for your work together?
Honestly? Both, and neither. Right now, we’re deep in promoting and touring it, and the album keeps opening new doors. Marco and I are collaborating with several exciting artists, including a fellow Ropeadope artist who invited me to contribute a poem to his upcoming album, another collaboration where I’m singing, and a remix from the album on the way. As for what comes next, we’ll see. I’ve learned not to force conclusions. The work tells us where it wants to go, and we follow. What I know is that Marco and I are nowhere near done saying all we have to say.
Photo Credit: Lisa Marie Simmons.