David Amram (born November 17, 1930 in Philadelphia) is an American composer, musician and writer. His eclectic use of jazz, ethnic and folk music has led him to work with the likes of Thelonious Monk, Willie Nelson, Charles Mingus, Leonard Bernstein and Jack Kerouac throughout the course of his career. He was appointed composer-in-residence to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1966-7 season. 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Jazz master Louis Armstrong remains one of the most loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ... It has been suggested that Folkies be merged into this article or section. ... Thelonius Monk, as featured on the cover of his 1956 album, Brilliant Corners Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... Willie Nelson, early 90s. ... Charles Mingus (also known as Charlie Mingus; April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz bassist, composer, bandleader, and occasional pianist. ... Leonard Bernstein in 1971 Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American composer and orchestra conductor. ... Jack Kerouac (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, artist, and part of the Beat Generation. ... The New York Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in New York City. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Life

Shortly before his seventh birthday Amram and his family moved to a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. His grandfather, who had been active in early American Zionist circles and had spent considerable time in Palestine, taught him basic Hebrew. His father introduced him to cantorial music and classical music. Amram's uncle loved jazz, introducing him to recordings of great jazz artists, and took him to see many of those artists in person. Bucks County is a county located in the state of Pennsylvania. ... A bilingual poster in Romanian and Hungarian promoting a film about Jewish settlement in Palestine, 1930s. ... Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than 7 million people, mainly in Israel, the West Bank, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ...

At the age of seven, Amram began piano lessons, experimenting with trumpet and tuba before settling on the French horn. In 1948 he spent a year at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, but earned a bachelor's degree in European history from George Washington University in 1952. During those years, Amram was an extra horn player with the National Symphony. A grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument, widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment, and also as a convenient aid to composing and rehearsal. ... The trumpet is the highest stringed instrument in register, above the horn, trombone, euphonium, and tuba. ... The tuba is the largest of the low-brass instruments and is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. ... The horn is a brass instrument consisting of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... Musician entering the Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the nations oldest continuously operating conservatory. ... The George Washington University (GWU) is a private university in Washington, D.C., founded in 1821 as The Columbian College. ...

Amram spent 1952-1954 with the United States Army in Europe, playing with the Seventh Army Symphony. While stationed In Paris for a year, Amram devoted himself to composition, and played with Lionel Hampton's band and other jazz groups. US Army Seal HHC, US Army Distinctive Unit Insignia The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...

Amram returned to the United States in 1955, attending the Manhattan School of Music. During that time he supported himself by playing with Charles Mingus at Café Bohemia and Oscar Pettiford at Birdland. He also led his own jazz group at the Five Spot Café on the Bowery. Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music is a music conservatory located in New York City that offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition. ... Charles Mingus (also known as Charlie Mingus; April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz bassist, composer, bandleader, and occasional pianist. ... Oscar Pettiford (1922 – 1960) was an American bebop bassist and cellist. ... In jazz, Birdland may refer to: A famous jazz club in New York City, originally located on 52nd Street, now at at 315 W. 44th St. ... Categories: Stub | Streets in Manhattan ...

In 1959 Amram wrote music for and acted in, "Pull My Daisy", a film created and narrated by Jack Kerouac. The film featured other Beat Generation writers, including Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso. During the same year, he met director John Frankenheimer, and he was impressed enough by the composer that he asked him to compose the score for his television adaptation of Turn of the Screw. Allen Ginsberg in later life Irwin Allen Ginsberg (IPA: ) (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American Beat poet born in Newark, New Jersey. ... Gregory Corso (illustration) Gregory Corso (March 26, 1930 – January 17, 2001) was an American poet, the fourth member of the canon of Beat Generation writers (with Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs). ... John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film director. ... The Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. ...

His best-known work as a film composer, however, came with Frankenheimer's 1962 film adaptation of The Manchurian Candidate. Amram's score was a blend of post-war jazz, latin music and atonal classical composition. The orchestral passages in particular boast a programmatic, highly rhythmic style that almost sounds like a bridge between the work of Anton Webern and Frank Zappa. The score is also notable for its unusual orchestrations, boasting such instruments as the harpsichord, and for the usage of jazz musicians such as Paul Horn for the recording of the score, as most soundtracks from that time were generally recorded using orchestral musicians. However, the film was not a popular success when it was released (partially due to the fact that, soon after the film's release, President John Kennedy was assassinated), though it is now regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, and Amram's score is highly-regarded as well. The original soundtrack recording was briefly released on cd in 1997. John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film director. ... The Manchurian Candidate is a 1959 novel by Richard Condon. ... Jazz master Louis Armstrong remains one of the most loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ... Atonality in a general sense describes music that departs from the system of tonal hierarchies that are said to characterized the sound of classical European music from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. ... Program music is music intended to evoke extra-musical ideas, images in the mind of the listener by musically representing a scene, image or mood [1]. By contrast, absolute music stands for itself and is intended to be appreciated without any particular reference to the outside world. ... Anton Webern (December 3, 1883 – September 15, 1945) was an Austrian composer. ... Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, guitarist, singer and satirist. ... Harpsichord in Flemish style; for more info, click the image. ... Paul Horn (born March 17, 1930) is a American jazz flutist, and leader of the Paul Horn Quintet. ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. ... There have been several John Kennedys: John F. Kennedy, American president John F. Kennedy, Jr. ...

Reference

Vibrations: The Adventures and Musical Times of David Amram by Douglas Brinkley - Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press (January, 2001) ISBN: 1560253088

Discography

• Pull My Daisy: Premier Recordings September 26, 1995 ASIN: B00000205T
• At Home/Around the World: Flying Fish Records September 17, 1996 ASIN: B000000MES
• Havana/New York: Flying Fish Records September 29, 1992 ASIN: B000000ME8
• No More Walls: Flying Fish Records June 10, 1997 ASIN: B000000MWE
• Pictures of the Gone World: Synergy Ent February 8, 2005 ASIN: B0007GAEMG
• Triple Concerto: Flying Fish Records March 10, 1998 ASIN: B000005ZJG
• Southern Stories: Cedar Glen August 27, 1999 ASIN: B00000K4JB
• Manchurian Candidate: Premier Recordings November 25, 1997 ASIN: B000002063

Bibliography

• Offbeat: Collaborating with Kerouac Thunder's Mouth Press (January, 2003) ISBN: 1560254602

Trivia

Children's folk singer Raffi references Amram in the song Peanut Butter Sandwich: Raffi Cavoukian (born July 8, 1948), usually known simply as Raffi, is a popular childrens entertainer in Canada and the Western world at large. ...

 "One for me and one for David Amram" 

External links

• David Amram - Home Page
• David Amram - Appearance Schedule and Directory