David Amram
David Amram
David Amramis an American composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist, and author. As a classical composer and performer, his integration of jazz, folkloric and world music has led him to work with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Willie Nelson, Langston Hughes, Charles Mingus, Pepper Adams, Levon Helm, Betty Carter and Jack Kerouac. In the early 1950s, he was encouraged to pursue his unique path by mentors Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, the New York Philharmonic's conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos, Miles Davis, Aaron Copland,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComposer
Date of Birth17 November 1930
CountryUnited States of America
The Upper Bohemia people wore tuxedos in an art gallery, and Lower Bohemia was all of us.
Like the music of Beethoven, Bach and Charlie Parker, the Beatles' music was built to last - proving that a thing of beauty is a joy forever.
That is what I did with Jack, and that's why he liked to do the readings with me because he knew I was there for him, and for our ability to blend the poetry and the music.
There are a lot of wonderful things created in our culture that have been ignored that can speak to them.
Even before he had one book published, Jack was one of those people you could feel was very special.
We had common interests in the beauty of the French language. We both had a tremendous love of jazz. We shared dreams of getting married and having a family, living in the country, leading an idyllic life.
I was part of it, and I am still part of it today in terms of what it means to a whole new generation of people who are interested in the enduring energy, achievements, spirit and creativity that exemplified our era.
In a jazz atmosphere, the audience members were so quiet and respectful of the musicians that you felt you were almost part of a meeting at a church or a temple, where everyone was completely in tune with the sermon and what the whole event was about.
The first time I heard Ron Whitehead read I felt what I imagine those who heard Abraham Lincoln deliver The Gettysburg Address felt.
Esquire, in a July, 1957 issue, has a photograph of me playing the French horn at the Five Spot.
Morley is one of the outstanding voices of her generation, as a singer, songwriter and bandleader she's in a class of her own, transcends all categories and is making a major contribution to contemporary music.
Today's trend ends up in tomorrow's landfill.
We met with the poet Frank O'Hara, who was a link between Upper and Lower Bohemia, and who worked at the Museum of Modern Art, where we had hoped to do the readings.
The atmosphere was wide open in those circles that we traveled in.