The original soundtrack recording of poetry written and performed by Piri Thomas with music by Kip Hanrahan.

PIRI THOMAS, ROBBY AMEEN, CHOCOLATE ARMENTEROS, BILLY BANG, MILTON CARDONA, EDSEL GOMEZ, ANDY GONZALEZ, JERRY GONZALEZ, KIP HANRAHAN, STEFON HARRIS, JT LEWIS, PEDRO MARTINEZ, MARIO RIVERA, FERNANDO SAUNDERS, ALFREDO TRIFF, JAMES ZOLLAR, JONATHAN ROBINSON '...What a great title. And how good to hear an album that lives up to it... This rich and multifaceted 27-track CD is based on the soundtrack to Jonathan Robinson's film about Piri Thomas, the Nuyorican 'poet laureate', assembled from the poet's own readings and sessions led by auteur/producer Kip Hanrahan. ...Thomas, now in his 70s, has a speaking voice that is still powerful, resonant and urgent. The music moves logically from improvised textures to Latin schmaltz; from streetwise percussion jams to the minimalist, multitracked pianos of Hanrahan's instrumental title track. The young boy's spoken voice on I'm Tough is almost unbearably moving: 'I'm tough. I hope I'm tough enough.' ....' -John L Walters, The Guardian, England

Track Listing

• Like Tight (At Juvie)
• Bullets Or Butterflies / Every Child Is Born A Poet
• Born Anew At Each A.M.
• Oye Familia!
• What Better Place'
• Softly, Puerto Rican, You'Re Not Alone
• Mom And Pop Had Filled My Eyes With The Wonderous City
• I Speak For Myself
• Vaya!
• Mind Trances
• Freedom Of Expressions
• Getting From Nothing
• Pride On Bended Knees
• Momma Never Lost Her Sense Of Beauty
• Those Who Is And Those Who Ain'T
• Armed Robbery On West 8th Street
• Puerto Rican Identity / I'M Tough / El Miedo
• Distant Shore Dreams / The Cruelest Prison Of All
• Hollywood In Harlem
• Every Child Is Born A Poet
• The Hard Stuff
• El Vejiganté
• Doubt Kills
• Dignity
• No Vuelvo
• A Dialogue With Society A/K/A Sermon From The Ghetto
• . Pretty As Thee

Additional Details

Label: American Clave

Genre: Jazz

Run Time: 52 mins

Release Date: 04/07/09

UPC: 029817997020