Freedom First: Keith LaMar & Albert Marquès Album Release

In 2022, Cleveland-born poet, writer and activist Keith LaMar and Brooklyn-based, Catalan pianist and composer Albert Marquès released FREEDOM FIRST, the first album in history by an artist on death row. Since 2020 they have toured the world with a rotating group of international musicians, playing concerts around the United States and in London, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Santiago de Chile and Berlin, with LaMar performing his spoken word poetry live by phone from the Ohio State Penitentiary, where he has spent over 30 years in solitary confinement. 

In September 2024, LaMar and Marquès teamed up with 8 musicians at Brooklyn's ShapeShifter Lab to record their first live album, LIVE FROM DEATH ROW. On May 31st, LaMar's 56th birthday, they will perform songs from the album at Joe's Pub, from Coltrane classics like "Acknowledgement" to new compositions incorporating influences from hip hop to free jazz. 

FREEDOM FIRST has been covered by international press including The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, Democracy Now!, Le Figaro, El Pais, Time out... and they received multiple awards.

LaMar is scheduled to be executed by the State of Ohio on January 13, 2027 for a crime he claims he did not commit.

Keith LaMar Website
Albert Marquès Website

Photo Credit: Ohio State Penitentiary