Keith LaMar poetry
Albert Marquès piano
Kazemde George tenor saxophone
Caroline Davis alto saxophone
Eva Lawitts bass
Zack O’Farrill drums

Keith Lamar is a Clevelandborn poet, writer, and activist who has spent over 30 years in solitary confinement on death row for a crime he didn’t commit. November 16th, 2023, was meant to be the last day of Keith LaMar's life. In July, however, his sentence was postponed until January 2027. The Freedom First project began in August 2020 as a protest concert following the murder of George Floyd, with dozens of musicians on the streets of New York playing the jazz standards that LaMar says helped him survive solitary. More than a band, this project is a movement that has included more than 70 musicians and performed in the United States, South America, and Europe. Freedom First is also the title of LaMar and Marquès' album, released in February 2022, the first in history by an artist on death row.

Sound Production: Moses Burdon, Hamptons Sound and Music, https://hamptonsound.com/
Video Production: Bill Delano, Peconic Pictures, www.peconic.pictures/
Exhibition on Display: Misla, and Sara Mejia Kriendler, June 10 July 9, 2023
Credit: Programming at The Arts Center at Duck Creek is made possible through the generous support of the Willem de Kooning Foundation, the HILO Foundation, and people like you.
For more information: www.duckcreekarts.org
Musician Websites: www.keithlamar.org, www.albertmarques.com, www.kazemdegeorge.com, www.carolinedavis.org