Rock & Roll Globe
Back in October of 2015, poet Danny Simmons and the bass playing jazz legend Ron Carter took the stage at the BRIC House to play a set for the venue’s Jazz Festival.
While Cater improvised, Simmons performed poems from his most recent book, The Brown Beatnik Tomes. Carter’s nuanced improvisations fit perfectly with the powerful images Simmons conjured with his words. The evening was recorded and has just been released by Blue Note Records as The Brown Beatnik Tomes – Live at the BRIC House.
Simmons is a poet with a commanding presence and a formidable flow. Unlike his more famous musical brothers – Russell Simmons, head of the Def Jam label and Joseph Simmons, better known as the Rev. Run, of Run DMC – he chose poetry and painting as his life’s work. “When he was starting his label, my brother Russell invited me to join him in his new venture,” Simmons said. “I told him I had other things to do, but I didn’t know what they were. Eventually, I found out.