The Last Word

The Last Word is a collaboration between five of Chicago's best musicians and songwriters with Marc Kelly Smith, performance poet, founder of the Uptown Poetry Slam and a leader of the worldwide poetry slam movement. We have been together seven years, put out 3 albums and have played at the Green Mill, Fitzgerald's, Studio5, Epiphany and parks, festivals and concert halls. Marc's performance of original and classic poetry meshes seamlessly with Al Day's vocals and lyrics and the hard-driving jazz of the Last Word to illustrate multi-dimensional tales of urban life. With pianist Bob Long, bassist Doug Lofstrom, saxophonist Michael Levin and drummer Sarah Allen, the Last Word creates new worlds to be explored. As Robert Rodi wrote in New City, "it's apparent we're hearing an entirely new kind of poetic conversation, and it's thrilling."