...a union of song, jazz, and poetry—an artistic collaboration of the first rank...They're real. They write about subjects which thinking people think about. They give voice to our thoughts.
Born from a chance musical encounter at Chicago's Uptown Poetry Slam in 2017, The Last Word Quintet is a collaboration between four of Chicago's more active musicians and songwriters, with Marc Kelly Smith, a performance poet and a leader of the worldwide poetry slam movement. In an intense and amazingly short period of time they seamlessly wove Marc's original and classic poetry with Al Day's vocals and lyrics to form a collection of pieces illustrating multi-dimensional tales of urban life. With pianist Bob Long, bassist Doug Lofstrom and saxophonist Brian Gephart, the Last Word creates vivid worlds to be explored. As Robert Rodi wrote in Newcity, "it's apparent we're hearing an entirely new kind of poetic conversation, and it's thrilling." Joining the quintet on Falling to Earth is drummer Sarah Allen.
Track Listing:
1 Iron Tango 4:02
2 Children of Paradise 5:13
3 Book and the Rose 3:24
4 Unmasked 6:02
5 Rage of Angels 6:02
6 Circle of Doors 2:36
7 Dream of Flying 4:47
8 Stove in the Back 5:50
9 Falling to Earth 6:39
10 Limelight 8:33
11 Dominguez 6:40
12 Daylight 4:39
Performers:
Al Day - vocals, guitar
Marc Kelly Smith - spoken word, background vocals
Bob Long - piano, vocals
Doug Lofstrom - bass, keyboard, background vocals
Brian Gephart - saxophones
Sarah Allen - drums
Production Info:
Produced by Doug Lofstrom
Executive Producers: Al Day and Doug Lofstrom
Recorded by Doug Lofstrom
Assistant Engineer: Jade Allen
at Little Miracles Music, Villa Park, IL
April 11, 2021 through October 24, 2022
Mixed by Steve Yates and Doug Lofstrom
at Steve Yates Recording, Morton Grove, IL
Mastered by Brian Schwab
at Schwab Music, Chicago, IL
Last Word photos by Tanya Tucka
Sarah Allen photo by Linda Van Dyke
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
Reviews of Falling to Earth
Jazz'halo (Belgium) (Ferdinand Dupuis-Panther)
We can read the following about the quintet and its creation on the Origin Records label website: “Born from a chance musical encounter at Chicago's Uptown Poetry Slam in 2017, The Last Word Quintet is a collaboration between four of Chicago's more active musicians and songwriters, with Marc Kelly Smith, a performance poet and a leader of the wo ...
Take Effect (Tom Haugen)
A Chicago quartet, plus Marc Kelly Smith's voice, Last Word Quintet pen stories of urban life here, where 12 lively tracks unfold with nods to beat poetry.
The lively spirit of "Iron Tango" starts the listen with Smith's raw spoken word alongside Sarah Allen's well timed drums and Doug Lofstrom's playful bass, and "Children Of Paradise" follows ...
