Stephen Holden, the music reviewer for the New York Times, heaped praise on Louis Rosen and Capathia Jenkin’s show of songs set to the poems of Nikki Giovanni at Joe’s Pub (through May 26th). Read the review but here’s an excerpt.

"Monday’s show heralded the release of Ms. Jenkins and Mr. Rosen’s
second album, “One Ounce of Truth” (PS Classics), a collection of songs
based on Ms. Giovanni’s verses. The music is notable for its modesty
and its care not to impede the conversational rhythms of the poetry.
You might describe Mr. Rosen’s uncategorizable, continually shifting
musical patchwork of blues, folk, jazz and pop as earthy, tuneful art
song. He is from the South Side of Chicago, and the polyglot influences
show."

Holden also had praise a-plenty for Capathia Jenkins, the multi-octave vocalist beloved by Park Sloper’s who have heard her perform Rosen’s Maya Angelou songs and his Southside Stories at the Old Stone House. 

"Ms. Jenkins, familiar from Broadway (“Caroline, or Change”) is not a
vocal showoff. She dramatizes Ms. Giovanni’s poetry only to the degree
that the language calls for it. For the most part, the songs are sly,
playful observations that take an off-center, positive view of life and
love. “I Wrote a Good Omelet (After Loving You)” is a mischievous
celebration of nurturing sex.

Even the more cosmic numbers, like
the album’s title song, a meditation on the life cycle, refrain from
outright declamation. As Ms. Jenkins sang the words “Remember my smile
when I’m gone” in a sweet, sunny voice with an undertone of resolve, a
poet in touch with her life force smiled through the music."