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.
Track listing
"Who'll Pay Reparations on My Soul?" runs at 5:14 on CD reissue.
Personnel
David Barnes – percussion, vocals
Charlie Saunders, Eddie Knowles – congas
Gil Scott-Heron – guitar, piano, vocals
Technical
Charles Stewart – cover art
Bob Thiele – producer
Legacy
Leon Bridges performed a new rendition of "Whitey on the Moon" in the 2018 Damien Chazelle film First Man, which was also included on the film's soundtrack album.