“‘The Black Magnolia Project’, is a non-linear ‘Future Roots Music’ exploration of that place where sound, spirit & survival co-exist…and often collide. A record that has no answers or questions, but instead is a beautiful reminder of the power of collaboration, a friendship of the human spirit, even in the darkest of times.”
— Splash Magazines
“Komunyakaa’s poetry has always had a very musical aspect to it, paying tribute to jazz and blues and popular song, and he’s said that he feels there’s a “singing underneath things.” So it makes sense that Komunyakaa teamed up with his friend Tomas Donker on the songs that became The Mercy Suite, a series of songs about national trauma, memory and grief”
— Courant.com
BIG APPLE BLUES
“Doncker’s [Big Apple Blues] is impressive with its songwriting and playing. Komunyakaa’s lyrics are a huge draw..; the award winning poet’s meditations, stories and discussions lend the music an unprecedented level of depth. Definitely a record worth checking out for fans of rock and blues guitar.”
— ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“Big Apple Blues [is] an enormous record. There is a weight and grandness to it that carries a kind of grace or gravitas...the record moves, dealing in blues, jazz, rock and roll, and world flavors, a kind of “global soul” music for the masses. It’s classic. It’s immediate. It’s timeless”
