Poitier Meets Plato

When considering the question of who might have the greatest speaking voice, it would be silly not to include the late Sidney Poitier on your shortlist. You’re less likely to have him on your mind when considering who might be most qualified to pontificate on fundamental questions of human philosophy, but you’re in luck if that’s something you’ve ever wanted to hear; on Poitier Meets Plato, he dives into passages from the forefather of Classical thought in dramatic fashion, backed by the tunes of jazz composer and cellist innovator Fred Katz. Poitier — the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for best actor — shows why he captured the attention of moviegoers across generations, breathing life into stuffy philosophy 101 texts with pointed interrogatives, climactic pauses, and assertive exclamations. Katz’s backing track would probably not be particularly compelling on its own, but the way it moves with Poitier’s narration, accentuating critical moments and going silent when it needs to get out of the way, elevates the experience. Though this is ostensibly a novelty record, it does kind of make you think.