For Immediate Release

2011-10-22T21:41:00.017-04:00

Pete Seeger & David Amram after the hour long march from the Symphony Space Benefit Concert for Clearwater to their midnight performance at Columbus Circle.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

A NOTE TO ALL MY FRIENDS ABOUT THE MIDNIGHT MARCH AND CONCERT WITH PETE SEEGER FOR JOBS AND JUSTICE

Last night, after Symphony Space's sold-out concert for the Clearwater Festival, I walked with Pete Seeger, Pete's grandson Tao Rodriguez Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Tom Chapin, Guy Davis, my two kids Alana and Adam, and a bunch of young people for thirty six blocks from West 95th Street to the Columbus Circle Fountain on West 59th street, where we gave a second free impromptu concert at midnight in front of the water fountain.

We were accompanied by a mob of marchers and all the policemen who escorted us were exceptionally friendly and supportive, and there were no bad moments.

It was wonderful to see picket signs from the United Auto Workers, as well as other unions, teachers groups and some of the members of Occupy Wall Street who came uptown to join us.

What Pete and all of hoped for was that this march and midnight concert would be a peaceful message to all New Yorkers to encourage each of them to find their own way to help assure a future for our kids and restore a world which celebrated fairness and decency for everyone.

All of us who came up during the years of the Great Depression of the 30s had faith that the USA was a society where hard work and the possibility of finding a job was a given, and that all of us should accept equal responsibility for paying our fair share of taxes.

And that we could always have the time to be compassionate towards others who were also struggling to make ends meet.

You don't have to be a genius to see the inequities today. They can be easily be solved by using common sense and applying it to rectify the situation.

This event was different than what the 60s events became, when a corporate Youth Culture machine turned idealistic young people into a marketing demographic. During our hour long march (we moved slowly, due to the huge number of supporters, all of whom wanted to talk to Pete) there were NO groups I could see who seemed to be trying to profit from the current serious mess our country is in, by engaging anyone else with name calling, endless bickering and partisan self-serving insult-comic blathering and orgies of self promotion.

Pete set the tone for the whole event, as he he has been doing for the past seventy years of service to the world.

At 92, he remains as amazing as ever, and as we marched from 95th St to 57th Street, he commented to me how the two shiny metal canes he had just purchased for the occasion were a real help in making the long trek.

And when he saw a piece of paper on the sidewalk, he stopped, bent down and picked it up.

Then I saw a discarded popsicle stick on the sidewalk and doing a touch-your toes-calisthenics movement, scooped it up and kept walking.

Pete leaned over and whispered in my ear, "You can put it in my jacket pocket."

I suddenly realized that the fact that the sidewalks were so clean compared to how they were in 1955 when I first moved to New City, and that we had so many trash baskets, recycling bins and even a Hudson River where fish could swim was in large part because of Pete and his now not so crazy idea of letting us all know that each of us could make a small contribution to cleaning up the environment and trying to look after one another, by paying attention to everyone who crossed your path and being responsible for the small things like that lone discarded popsicle stick, were the small actions that each of us could take every day.

So now that I have resuscitated my hiking chops as well as having had the privilege of being part of something so positive, I am getting ready to pack up to go to Northern Italy this Wednesday night for eleven days for a series of concerts, with the wonderful young musician Dario Pinelli and his Gypsy Jazz ensemble. We played together last year in New York and he is fabulous.

After all my recent forays of the past few months, including last nights marathon post concert march, my upcoming trip to Bella Italia will definitely be, as they say in Italian, un grande cambiamento di ritmo (a great change of pace).

With cheers always, ed un abbraiccione dall'Italia per tutti.

Tu cumpà sempre,

David

2011-06-21T09:19:00.018-04:00

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HIGHLIGHTS of DAVID AMRAM'S SUMMER SCHEDULE

On July 15th, David will be inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in Tulsa, receiving a lifetime achievement award.

That same evening David will also be heading an all-star jazz band in a Tribute Concert to his old friend and one of his first band leaders, the late legendary Oklahoma jazz bassist and cellist Oscar Pettiford, whom David played with from 1955 through 1957 while also recording three albums with Oscar. Along with Julius Watkins, David pioneered the use of French Horn as an improvising instrument in jazz, while jamming with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Miles and performing and recording with Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Mary Lou Williams, Betty Carter and Kenny Dorham, after his first recordings in Paris with Lionel Hampton in 1955. For the Pettiford big band, Oscar chose to use both Amram and Watkins in his Orchestra, to create a new sound with two French Horns. When David joined the Pettiford band in 1956, Oscar was already a renowned musician, who had introduced the cello into jazz music, and had played bass and cello throughout the 1940s with many of the great big band jazz orchestras of the era, including Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines, Ben Webster, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Barnett, Duke Ellington and Woody Herman. With Gillespie in 1943, Pettiford helped pioneer the be-bop sound. Beginning in 1950, Pettiford led his own big band and other ensembles until his death in 1960, with Cannonball Adderley as one of his most prominent discoveries.

While in Oklahoma, David will travel from Tulsa to Okemah on July 16th and 17th to honor another old friend Wood Guthrie, and perform at the Woody Guthrie Festival for the eighth time.

In early June, David performed and conducted a chamber orchestra at the Kerrville Festival in Texas, played at the Apollo Theater's 100th Anniversary Celebration of Latin Jazz and at Pete Seeger's Clearwater Festival in upstate New York.

Between now and October, David will also be Guest Composer at Queen's College Conductors Program (June 24 - 28); performing at the Putnam County Fair (July 30th); giving concerts of his chamber music and appearing at the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, Rhode Island for a screening of Lawrence Kraman's new feature documentary film "David Amram: The First 80 Years!" He is the featured artist for this year's Bridge Fest in Newport (August 2 - 4); then he will performing at Farm Aid as a guest artist with Willie Nelson and his band (August 13), the Philadelphia Folk Festival (August 19 - 21st); performing and lecturing at the Kerouac Fest in Wyndber, Pa (August 27th); Composer-in-Residence and performer at the MOAB Festival in Moab, Utah (August 29 - September 6th); performing his "Variations on Amazing Grace" to open up the 10th Anniversary Memorial the 9/11 Concert at Symphony Space, presented by the New York Chamber Music Festival (September 11th); performing as the soloist in his composition "In Memory of Chano Pozo" with the Shreveport Symphony Ochestra, and lecturing at Centenary College in Shreveport (September 18 - 25th); and performing as a soloist in his composition "Triple Concerto for woodwind, brass and jazz quintets and orchestra" with the Symphony Silicone Valley in San Jose, California (September 27 - October 2nd). In addition, he will be working on his fourth book and composing a new classical composition, when not touring the country.

Enjoy catching David along America's bi-ways!

Doug Yeager
David Amram's Manager

P.S. Don't forget that when he is within striking distance of New York, David still performs qith his quartet and guest artists the 1st Monday of the month at the Cornelia Street Cafe in New York's Greenwich Village.

Douglas A. Yeager Productions, Ltd.
300 West 55th Street, Ste. # 15E, New York, New York 10019
TEL: (212) 245-0240 / FAX: (212) 245-06576
SKYPE: DouglasYeager / EMAIL: yeagerprod@aol.com

2011-05-20T17:10:00.019-04:00

A MESSAGE TO NARAS AND TO ALL WHO LOVE MUSIC, THOSE WHO CREATE THE MUSIC AND THE MILLIONS WHOSE LIVES ARE ENRICHED BY ALL MUSICS BUILT TO LAST

From David Amram

This is a day to rejoice in our solidarity.

With all of us en conjunto, we will ultimately win because all sincere musics are rising in their appreciation around the world and NARAS and corporate junk is WANING!!!

NARAS is trying to save the old-school music industry, which is presently like the last hours of the Titanic, rapidly sinking, and we are already in the lifeboats, heading towards the shore in order to be on time for our next gig...and WE ARE NOT GOING TO GO AWAY!!!

If NARAS goes out of business because of their recent decision, their board members can get other jobs outside the world of music.

But we will NEVER go out of business, because we are all in this for LIFE!!! And the music we create has a shelf life that will be here long after we are gone!!

We all bear witness to all those who came before us who worked under wretched conditions, were abused and cheated and ignored by the record business and still created a foundation

for us to build upon, from the glorious roots which they preserved to enrich our lives. We owe it to them as well as to our own families to stand up for what is fair.

We are in some good company since all the OTHER CATEGORIES THEY WANT TO CUT OUT include new recordings of the works of Mozart, Bach, Brahms and even Beethoven's "A Minor String Quartet," because NARAS tells us that since chamber music also is now a NON-CATEGORY, this music is considered of no value to the record industry.

Cuchao's classic innovations, the trail-blazing work of Tipica 77, Irakare, the Ft. Apache Band, Ray Barreto and Cal Tjader opened doors for the young pioneers of today in Miami, Chicago and New York City.

Are we going to sit silently by as a new generation of musicians are told that what they are now creating is no longer relevant, since it is called Latin-Jazz?

I don't think so.

Millions of people know that the music of established giants like Eddie Palmieri, Machito, Mario Bauza, Arsenio Rodriguez, Mongo Santa Maria, Tito Puente, Paquito d'Rivera and hundreds of others have created music BUILT TO LAST and HERE TO STAY, WITH or WITHOUT NARAS!!

People from all over the world visit the USA and many come to hear Native American, Cajun, Zydeco, Hawaiian, traditional Blues and Mexican-American music.

Should they be told at the border that the country where we celebrate the artistic achievements of all cultures with respect and cherish liberty for all, is now trying to bury us all underneath a corporate carpet?

Does NARAS only want to acknowledge what by definition, is supposed to last for two weeks before hitting the dumpster to be replaced by more trash?

Our young people deserve a break!!

And we are all here to give them one.

If our precious first amendment rights allow freedom of expression, shouldn't that finally include FREEDOM TO CHOOSE WHAT WE HEAR!!

On Dizzy Gillespie's 70th birthday celebration, when I was honored to be in a band which included Mongo Santa Maria, Candido, Dave Valentin, Steve Turre, Freddie Hubbard, Ignacio Berroa and Nicky Marrero. Dizzy told me after it was over.

"God put us here to play this music"

We all have a commitment and all of us will honor that commitment all our lives.

It takes a real man to admit a mistake.

We don't want or need an apology from NARAS.

We DO need for them to CHANGE THEIR POSITION!!

Many see the current NARAS position as a desire to commit cultural genocide.

Since we are compassionate people, we can offer NARAS the chance to reverse their position, and to help THEM from committing their OWN suicide!!

United we stand!!

P'Lante!!!

David Amram

May 22nd at NuYorican Poets Cafe in a gathering to raise our voices for music and the cultures who create this music.

2011-05-11T18:58:00.027-04:00

Come See A Sneak Preview of

DAVID AMRAM: THE FIRST 80 YEARS

a documentary feature film by Lawrence Kraman

Friday, May 13 at 8pm, Copland House at Merestead

455 Bryam Lake Road, Mount Kisco

To order tickets, contact (914) 788-4659

or email office@coplandhouse.org.

2011-04-19T06:39:00.027-04:00

April 19, 2011

As we have all heard NARAS has eliminated Latin/Jazz as a musical genre worthy of any consideration for an award. I hope these thoughts can be a tiny help to rectify this disgraceful decision ... Many people I have spoken to wonder if this a first step by NARAS to eventually eliminate opera, chamber music, symphonic music, jazz and folk. Rather than for all of us who are members to quit NARAS and eliminate our vote, which I am sure is what they would like us to do, or picket the next Grammys to protest this outrageous situation, I think for now that the best strategy is to get as many people as possible to post a second opinion, so that we can EMBARRASS THEM into restoring this category. And regardless of what NARAS decrees to be music of lasting value, all of us who play and love this music are NOT GOING TO GO AWAY or stop doing what we love to do and deprive all the people who LOVE TO HEAR US DO IT !!!!

So in this disturbing time, remember the old Spanish saying: "Se pilla al mentiroso antes que al cojo," i.e., "The truth will win out." Adios NARAS ... Hola Latin/Jazz !!! And we must remind the people at NARAS that ... It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that SWING !!!

I just wrote to friends from Denver's KUVO-FM, an award-winning 24 hour a day jazz station that also plays and documents many of the treasures of Latin and Jazz collaborations of the past and present and has a huge listenership. They know that the many varieties of sophisticated music created over the past 70 years in its COUNTLESS forms (which we call Latin/Jazz) is here to stay and is more appreciated every day by a world wide audience. We all make mistakes in life and they have made a HUGE one. But rather than asking them to apologize to the millions of listeners as well as the musicians and the many cultures whom they have insulted, (many of whom are fans and who also buy records), let's all see what each of us can do to persuade them to restore the category.

Are we supposed to put all the treasures of Latin/Jazz recordings in the nearest landfill because NARAS has informed us that this is no longer music of any value? Even though the eliminating of Latin/Jazz is shocking and senseless, rather than all of us trashing NARAS, hopefully there can be a way to get NARAS to realize that they are injuring THEMSELVES by eliminating one of the great forms of musical expression by stopping it from being rewarded.

In all fairness, if those who make these decisions had ever PLAYED, DANCED, SANG or SPENT ONE EVENING as a customer and felt the power and spirit that this music brings to EVERYONE, they would be SUPPORTING it, rather than trying to make it become invisible at the next Grammys. Here is what I wrote to the devoted people at KUVO, with hopes that we can all support every organization as well as every person who advocates better music and therefore a better life for our children.

-------------------------------------

Dear Lou McElroy, Carlos Lando, Alfredo Cruz, Tina Cartagena, Rodney Franks, Arturo Gomez, Susan Reese and all the staff and volunteers at KUVO-FM.

Great to hear from you and I send thanks for sending me Eddie Palmieri's statement about NARAS. I will continue, as I have done all my life, in the worlds of symphony, jazz, folk and spoken word, to try to make people, and especially young people aware of what they have not privileged to hear ...... the fantastic music which Mario Bauza, Machito, along with Bird, Dizzy, Chano Pozo and hundreds of other great musicans and singers, and 1000s of dancers, graced us with from the early 40s through today! In every interview, I will try to spread Eddie Palmieri's message about NARAS overlooking one of our culture's TREASURES! Eddie, and the music he plays today, along with Jose Madera's magnificent Legend's band, and the brilliant orchestras of Arturo O'Farill, Paquito d'Rivera and so many others, inspire musicians and listeners all over the world and will continue to do so. I am blessed to have been invited to perform, at the invitation of Bobby Sanabria and Candido, for the celebration of Afro-Cuban music and jazz from the 40s to the present day, taking place at the Apollo theater this June 18, also honors Mario Bauza's 100th birthday. I hope I can share with everyone there that once you start to study the clave, you have the KEY to appreciating everything from Bird to Mozart in a whole new way. Latin music and jazz teach you how to LISTEN !!! And together, they reinforce one another. Latin music, and the concept of being en conjunto. and how this harmonious, communal CIVILIZED way relates to the spirit of jazz and all sincere musics built to last, enriches the lives of everyone fortunate enough to be exposed to it. Whether you play it, listen to it, dance to it or pray to it, your mental and spiritual health is enriched. So we must all be "en conjunto" as we diplomatically hip NARAS to the Happenings. Latin/Jazz is more than a category. It is a treasure and a unique art form and a priceless gift for us all. And we all thank Eddie Palmieri, along with Candido, Machito, Cachao and the late Mario Bauza for their tireless years of musical pioneering, as the ambassadors of this beautiful marriage of these two styles of music into a perfect union.

David Amram

Putnam Valley, NY

2010-10-09T15:13:00.022-04:00

DAVID AMRAM: The First 80 Years

DAVID AMRAM: The First 80 Years takes place Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 7:30 pm at Peter Norton Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, NYC. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Clearwater, the organization founded by Pete Seeger, and the Woody Guthrie Foundation.

The concert will feature the New York premiere of Amram's "Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie," performed in memory of Odetta by the 60-piece Queens College Orchestra, conducted by Maurice Peress. The work will be introduced by Nora Guthrie, who commissioned it with support from the Guthrie Foundation, based on her father's song "This Land is Your Land." "En Memoria de Chano Pozo" for Latin/jazz group and symphony orchestra, conducted by Amram, will be performed in memory of Dizzy Gillespie with guest soloists Candido (congas) and Bobby Sanabria (timbales), with Amram himself on piano, penny whistles and percussion.

The evening will also mark the New York premiere of an excerpt from the new DVD of Amram's 1968 comic opera 12th Night with a libretto by the late Joe Papp, and will be introduced by Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer of the Lincoln Center Theater and former co-producer with Joe Papp of the New York Shakespeare Festival.

Selections from Amram's movie soundtracks, including Splendor in the Grass (1960), and the New York premiere of a selection from Amram's score for The Manchurian Candidate (1962) will be performed by the Brooklyn Conservatory Jazz Ensemble directed by Earl McIntyre. The Brooklyn Conservatory Jazz & Gospel Choirs directed by Renee Manning will also perform. Additional favorites of Amram's jazz, Latin, Middle-Eastern and world music compositions will be played in memory of Thelonious Monk.

The star-studded salute will also include introductions by Amram's friends from the world of theater, film and music, including actors Keir Dullea (2001: A Space Odyssey), John Ventimiglia (The Sopranos), Malachy McCourt and performers from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, as well as filmed 80th birthday wishes from Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Willie Nelson, members of the New York Philharmonic, and friends and colleagues from around the country.

Guest musicians will include John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), David Broza, Josh White Jr., Larry Kerwin (Black 47), The Imani Winds, the Amram Family Band and current members and alumni of Amram's quartets from the past 40 years as well as surprise guests. The concert will be filmed by Lawrence Kraman for his documentary film David Amram: The First 80 Years.

For tickets, click here. For more about David Amram, here.