Jazz From Death Row

Keith LaMar: Whenever I think about all the struggles and strife I've been through in my life is truly hard to comprehend. I'm sitting inside a cage on death row, so far away from home, so far away from everything I know.

Brian Lehrer: That's not the Brian Lehrer Show theme music. That's Death Row prisoner Keith LaMar, accompanied by a group of prominent jazz musicians. Together, they are using the power of music to try to bring attention to LaMar's case. LaMar's scheduled to be executed in Ohio next year, after being convicted by an all-white jury of killing five fellow inmates in a prison uprising in 1993. To this day, he maintains that he is innocent, though prosecutors continue to insist that his conviction was right. He is hoping his case gets another look from the legal system.

After finding personal liberation through poetry and jazz in prison, Keith LaMar's case caught the interest of jazz pianist and composer, Albert Marques. Marques enlisted an impressive roster of jazz greats including Brian Jackson, Kyle, and Davis, and a good friend of this show and station, Arturo O'Farrill, to put on a concert series called Freedom First and they also have an album of the same name coming out today on all the streaming platforms.

Joining me now are Albert Marques, pianist-composer in New York City school teacher, Arturo O'Farrill, 7-time Grammy Award-winning pianist and composer, global Jazz Studies professor at UCLA, and the associate dean for equity, diversity, and inclusion at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and artistic director of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. He was also mentioned an artist in residence here at WNYC's the Greenspace a few years ago, and I love doing a live show with him down there as part of that.

We also have Amy Gordiejew who is a campaign manager for the justice for Keith LaMar campaign. Arturo, welcome back. Albert and Amy, welcome to WNYC.

Arturo O'Farrill: It's always a pleasure, Brian. Good to hear your voice. I'm a big fan, as you know.

[crosstalk]

Brian Lehrer: Thank you. I just want to let the listeners in on a little breaking news that pertains to this segment. We were going to have Keith LaMar himself in conversation with our two musician guests calling in from prison. Amy, I'm told at the last minute, the warden got wind of this scheduled appearance and told him he couldn't do it.

Amy Gordiejew: That's correct, Brian. He wanted me to express his disappointment and let you know that at the last minute, he was preparing to make the call and he was pulled out. They said that what he intended to do, which is perfectly within his rights was in violation of policy. They're basically saying that he's not allowed to speak to the media. There was a litigation that resolved some years back with an agreement to not do in-person, face-to-face interviews with the media, but it's never included telephone.

The warden who hasn't been here as long and wasn't here when that policy was put into place admitted he had not read the policy, but he would need over the weekend to review it and he would let him know on Monday if, in fact, he had the right to do this kind of an interview. He expresses his disappointment and gratitude that you're helping to amplify his story. We will have to stay in touch and let you know how this all resolves.

Brian Lehrer: I guess so the policy at that prison is if we're not sure if you can have a phone conversation with someone on the radio, we're going to tell you you can't while we check it out. While you're hearing me, Amy, before I let you go and talk to the two musicians, we do have to say that in a recent New York Times article about the project, the prosecutors from Keith's case maintain the quote, "He is extremely guilty. He is where he belongs on death row."

They argue that several of his appeals or they point out I guess this is a fact that several of his appeals have been denied, and that a jury of 12 found him guilty of killing five fellow inmates. For people who are hearing about Keith LaMar's case for the first time and I don't know if he's guilty or innocent make your case. Why is this a campaign?

Amy Gordiejew: Well, one thing that happens in the legal system is that whatever happens at the original trial, whatever the outcome is, that becomes the standing new script. Regardless of if the things that were done there were done in a way that is unethical or shady. In Keith's case, there were all kinds of things that were wrong with his original trial. Winning an appeal isn't always about actually pursuing justice. It sometimes is more about whether or not it's provable that they played games.

Part of the problem in Keith's case is that evidence has always been suppressed. Through the years other prisoners have found in their legal work, things that pertain to him that were exculpatory to him that he never saw so that in Keith's situation, whether or not he can win an appeal isn't necessarily a good measure of his guilt or innocence, if we aren't actually looking at all the evidence.

I'll give you an example that's never been heard in any court. A man named Aaron Jefferson in the early investigation period came forth and admitted that he killed somebody that Keith's sitting on death row for that was never heard by any court. There are other things like that statements where somebody testified against him but in earlier interviews, never turned over that they said they never saw him there. They don't even know who he is. That sort of thing.

Really, the thing we want in the campaign is the opportunity for full disclosure of all of the evidence, because out of 22,000 pieces of evidence, not one thing could be linked to anybody. How can you hold anybody responsible for such terrible crimes. The other thing I guess, to add is that in 2011, there was a joint task force convened by the Ohio Supreme Court and they were an independent body that was supposed to be completely objective, and they came out with all kinds of recommendations and number 18 among their recommendations is that nobody should ever be sentenced to death in Ohio based solely on paid or not even paid prison informant testimony.

In Keith's case, many of those guys that came to trial through all of the different Lucasville uprising trials were paid with early parole. They had charges that were originally lodged against them, those were dropped against them. Not only were they prison informants, but they were paid and incentivized to get what [unintelligible 00:07:40]

[crosstalk]

Brian Lehrer: I'm going to leave it there with you. Amy, thank you very much for joining us and making-

Amy Gordiejew: Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: -Keith LaMar's case a little bit for him since he was prohibited from doing the scheduled interview himself. Albert Marques let me turn to you on the Freedom First project page with the album coming out today. The album is described as the first album in history recorded and released by an artist while on death row. Tell us the story of how you first connected with Keith LaMar, whose own voice we heard on the track we were playing coming into the segment, and how you got so interested in this.

Albert Marques: Good morning, Brian. Two years ago, at the beginning of the pandemic, I was playing on the streets of Brooklyn every day with my friend Roy Nathanson, who is also in the album. Then when they killed George Floyd, I was also going every day to BLM protests. I guess that doing both things at the same time, I just had this idea to connect them to the both of them together. I discovered Keith and his case through another one of my friends, Brian Jackson, who is also in the album, who made a podcast with him that it's so beautiful about Black music and about politics. I think it's really interesting.

The moment that I learned that Keith had been 29 years in solitary confinement, reading and listening to jazz, I thought, "This is what I can do to help him." I do play this music. I am a jazz piano player and composer and I have this opportunity, this time to help him through the thing that I do to make music and that's how it all started.

We organized three protests on the streets of Brooklyn. I convinced 25 musicians to play for free without a permit [unintelligible 00:09:37] for and with Keith. This is always very important for me that he's involved in the creative process. As a performer and as an artist, we amplify his voice. The last stage of this project is the recording that we are releasing today.

Brian Lehrer: Let's listen to another clip. This is one minute of the piece Drowned and the Saved with Keith LaMar's lyrics, and Arturo O'Farrill on the piano.

Keith LaMar: In this country, most of us operate under the delusion that we live in the 21st century and that somehow, without actually doing the work, we have overcome our history. It's natural. Instead of hanging people from trees, we use the so-called criminal justice system to perform legalize the change, and take this as a sign of progress. We confuse [unintelligible 00:10:38] with substance.

When I embarked on this journey 29 years ago. I was given the choice to either plead guilty to something I didn't do or face the death penalty. I was 25 years old. The thought that I would have to give up my life that was even a great burden to me. A burden that I wasn't so sure I could bare.

Brian Lehrer: Arturo O'Farrill, we heard your panel playing in that excerpt. You want to tell us a little bit about how you got invested in Keith LaMar's case?

Arturo O'Farrill: Well, [unintelligible 00:11:19] is a hero to me, because he's taken on an atavistic stance in all that he does, which as you know is the same model I aspire to all my recordings. All my music were all motivated by activism, atavism, social and political realities. The fact that Keith is on death row has nothing to do with anything other than the United States's war on poverty in that, unfortunately, has affected mostly Black and brown people.

Albert invited me to be a part of this, and I was blown away by Keith's intellect, he's erudite, he's smart, he's super, super sensitive. He's one of the loveliest people, I can't believe that a man on death row has taught me what it means to be free. When I was preparing for this recording, I listened extensively to Albert and his genuineness, his kindness, and for all of you who have not read his book, he makes a compelling case, not only for his innocence but for the guilt of the American system of war on poverty, especially on Black and brown people.

For me, to be able to play music, as I hear his voice, it felt like such a natural connection. His voice just inspired me to reach deep into my improvisatory nature, and connect with very real causes. I'm very involved in other organizations in my own organization with dealing with the criminal justice system, the incarcerated population, and we go into the prisons. We go into the prisons to give classes and to talk to people.

The vast majority of these people are young, Black, and brown men, and it's disproportionate. They are not the criminals. The criminals are often people who don't provide community services, who don't provide youth employment, are the people who send in police instead of social workers and mental health professionals. Then on the larger tip, which would, I got to tell you, Brian, this is true. I was so looking forward to hearing Keith's voice today, just as a friend.

Brian Lehrer: As a friend.

Arturo O'Farrill: Yes.

Brian Lehrer: We've just got a minute left in the segment, and I'm going to give it to you, Arturo, the project for a little historical comparison in the music world has been compared to Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the boxer who was convicted of murder but then ultimately freed after Bob Dylan wrote a song called Hurricane which helped raise the profile of his case. Do you want to say anything in our last 30 seconds about how music can help bring what you at least are convinced would be justice?

Arturo O'Farrill: I believe music is the healing [unintelligible 00:14:24] of love. It's an eternal gift. Einstein said without music life would be a cruel joke and I really believe it has the power to change the hearts of even the most hardened people.

Brian Lehrer: Albert Marques, he did that so efficiently. You get 10 seconds to piggyback on it.

Albert Marque: 10 seconds. There's a lot to say. I just want to say please, if you can go to keithlamar.org and keep learning about it, make a donation, listen to the album and listen to Keith, listen to what happened to him and what happened to a lot of poor Black and Latino people.

Brian Lehrer: With the album coming out we'll go to one more 30 second clip.

Keith LaMar: I'm writing [unintelligible 00:15:03] this words of January 2nd, 2022. This is two years away from my proposed execution, which is scheduled to take place on November the 16th 2023. In other words, I'm standing on the brink of my existence, staring directly into that terrifying darkness that awaits us all. It's a difficult dilemma to be in, I won't lie, but the only way to face it is to make it mean something.

Brian Lehrer: Keith LaMar from the album coming out today, Freedom First.

 

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