Brant Lyon's CD is a multicultural tour de force that matches global rhythms with global perspectives. I loved the jazz and blues filled
trip, the syncopated globetrotting from Coney Island to Cambodia, from Palestine to Mars and back.
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This is music and sound in relation to words as light relates to a gem.

What a cornucopia of sounds, mastery of technique, variety and unity--fusion!  This is how to "do" poetry now.  

Mr. Lyon has assembled a perfect cast of 8 excellent poets (including himself), allowed each to emote and think through his/her performance so every nuance of speech is captured and filled with meaning; then created the best sounds and music to undergird and lift the spirit of the presentation. He has found, in every instance, the most sensible and memorable way to work with each artist individually, then burnished the collective achievement.
 
I'm humbled by the versatility of the performers, the wizzardry of the digital keyboard.  A strong note of thanks, too, to J Armen at J. Armen Studios, NYC, for his consummate recording, mixing and mastering skills.

Here's a rich melange of sounds that tours the landscape of imagination: from Coney Island barkers, to temples in Cambodia; muezzins in the Middle East, Charlie Bird Parker in the jazz rhythm of the heart.  Here's work that pays homage, saluting Hafiz, for example, yet lets each artist revel in his/her own space--meditatively, humorously, sensually, politically.  

This is consciousness-raising at its best, shooting darts of thought into the heart, darts of feeling into the mind.  It shows what the art of the spoken word can be.  I am more certain now that there is a veritable "movement" in New York, as keen as the Beats were in the 50s and Dylan and the folksingers were in the 60s. 

This is a CD worthy of its title; one that captures our Zeitgeist.
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Brant Leon's CD is a unique listening experience. It transports the listener into alternative landscapes that spark creative flight within. The poetry is flawless and the music imaginative and delightful. The combination of both poetry and music is not to be missed.
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