Small Talk at 125th and Lenox
| Small Talk at 125th and Lenox | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 1970 | |||
| Venue | 125th & Lenox Nightclub (New York, New York) | |||
| Genre | Jazz poetry, proto-rap, spoken word | |||
| Length | 44:01 | |||
| Label | Flying Dutchman/RCA  FD-10143  | |||
| Producer | Bob Thiele | |||
| Gil Scott-Heron chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
2001 reissue cover  | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating | 
| AllMusic | |
| Billboard | (favorable) | 
| Uncut | 7/10 | 
| The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
A New Black Poet - Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, also known simply as Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, is a live album and the first release of recording artist Gil Scott-Heron, released in 1970 on Flying Dutchman Records. Recording sessions for the album were originally said to have taken place live at a New York nightclub located on the corner of 125th Street and Lenox Avenue, but liner notes included in the 2012 box set The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters, Scott-Heron himself insists that a small audience was brought to "the studio" and seated on "folding chairs". By the time of the recordings, Scott-Heron had published a volume of poetry and his first novel, The Vulture. Well received by music critics, who found Scott-Heron's material imaginative, Small Talk at 125th and Lenox has been described as "a volcanic upheaval of intellectualism and social critique" by AllMusic editor John Bush.