“Strange Fruit” by Freedom First: Justice for Keith Lamar – Live at Bimhuis Amsterdam, NL, Feb. 2024
Estréia no canal d’ A Casa de Vidro:
Uma das mais fortes e amargas canções de protesto já escritas, “Strange Fruit” (célebre na voz de Billie Holiday e Nina Simone, gravada pela primeira vez em 1939, e que tematiza as atrocidades da supremacia branca fazendo linchamentos e enforcando pessoas em árvores), renasce neste comovente concerto que demanda justiça por Keith Lamar que rolou na Bimhuis, Amsterdam/NL (29-02-2024). Este é um poeta e músico que aguarda para ser executado na Death Row dos EUA. Confira esta canção na voz e no piano, seguida por uma canção da banda completa (contrabaixo acústico, bateria, flauta somando-se ao piano) em que Lamar está performando sua voz à distância, da jaula onde está preso em Ohio, em tempo real com os músicos que integram este projeto “Freedom First” (mais em keithlar.org) – Assista ao vídeo: https://youtu.be/TkJr_y3v9V4.
Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Pastor scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouths
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rut, for the trees to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop
Lewis Allan
FREEDOM FIRST – MUSIC FROM DEATH ROW: Exceptional jazz concert centred around death-row inmate and spoken-word artist Keith LaMar. Know more: http://www.bimhuis.nl/…/freedom-first-music-from-death…/
Keith LaMar: poetry,
Albert Marquès: piano,
Erin Corine: voice/flute,
Manel Fortia: double bass,
Marc Ayza: drums.
Video by Hourglass Films. Shot and cut by Eduardo Carli at @acasadevidro_pontodecultura
BIMHUIS.NL – American writer, poet and activist Keith LaMar has been in a maximum-security prison in Ohio for more than 30 years. LaMar was sentenced to death in 1993 after the Lucasville Prison Riot, an 11-day riot in which several prison blocks were taken over and a guard and nine inmates were murdered. LaMar was charged without conclusive evidence with the murder of five of these inmates, and after questionable statements from those involved, an all-white jury sentenced him to death.
However hopeless his future prospects were, Keith LaMar did not leave it at that and decided to fight for his freedom. During his time in prison, he focused on writing spoken word, and he decided to share his story in search of support. And he found it. Convinced of his innocence, he received support from thousands of donators to this day, and together with Catalan jazz pianist Albert Marquès, he created the project Freedom First – Music From Death Row. With Freedom First, he has found a form for sharing the stage with jazz musicians: at each performance, he is present via a live connection from the Ohio State Penitentiary, or through recordings if the connection is too fragile. Thus Freedom First becomes more than a jazz concert; above all, it is a call for justice by a prisoner who wants to express his faith in humanity despite his death sentence.
Want to read more about this thrilling story? Read these The New York Times & EL PAÍS articles and Keith Lamar’s website.
Publicado em: 01/03/24
De autoria: Eduardo Carli de Moraes
