September
5th 2007 marked the 50th Anniversary of the publishing of Jack Kerouac's "On
The Road."
Throughout
2007, events marking this milepost have been going on all over the world. Starting
in January, Kerouac’s first musical collaborator, David Amram, has
been tirelessly "Chasin' Cool' crisscrossing America bringing his unique
perspective and style to audiences across the country.
September
2007 found David bringing his year's travels to a splendorous crescendo in his
friend's home town of Lowell, MA to celebrate Kerouac's spirit and legacy and
the great American Art form known as Jazz that so intertwined the writings of
Kerouac and the genre of literature that was born from them.
Celebrations
in NYC
Labor
Day Special: 50 Years In Greenwich Village
Monday
9/3 - Amram and his quartet perform music he has composed celebrating half
a century of collaborations with playwrights, choreographers, authors, poets and
musicians from the 50's through today's innovative young artists
.
Surprise
guest poet Jose Pacheco joins Amram and his quartet with Kevin Twigg,
drums and glockenspiel, John Dewitt,bass and Adam Amram congas.
Actor John Ventimiglia of The Sopranos and other guests will also perform.
Amram will read excerpts from his new book Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat.
At The Cornelia Street Cafe,
8:30 PM.
"Diamonds
in the Sidewalks" A celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Kerouac/Amram
first Jazz/poetry readings ever given in New York in 1957.
Thursday,
9/6 David Amram's quartet, with Kevin Twigg,John DeWitt and Adam
Amram are joined by Tim
Moran, John Ventimiglia, Adira Amram, Russell Brand, Casey Cyr, Ron Whitehead,
Frank Messina, Katinka Klein, Erik Lawrence and Jose Pacheco at The
Bowery Poetry Club, 10:00 PM.
Insom
contributing journalist, Jeremy Hogan was there snapping stills and rolling
video. Click
Here to view The PhotoBook
And
there's some great VidClips Click
Here To View John Ventimiglia's "I
Think Of Neal", Adira Anram imparts, "On
The Roof of America" and Click
Here To View Jose Pacheco and his tale of "The
Night Charlie Parker Played Tenor at Montmartre Café in Greenwich Village."
Celebrations
in Lowell
FROM
CAIRO TO KEROUAC: A CELEBRATION OF THE WORDS AND HERITAGE OF JACK KEROUAC IN LOWELL
Friday,9/7
Amram brings his quartet to Boarding
House Park in Lowell to celebrate the half century of his first public
collaborations with Kerouac in 1957. Amram's quartet with Kevin Twigg, John
DeWitt and Adam Amram will be joined by special guest, saxophone master
Jerry Dodgion and a 4-piece string band called Hot Day at the Zoo.
This free program includes some of Kerouac's favorite classics of jazz and world
music which he heard while growing up in Lowell. Actor John Ventimiglia
of The Sopranos will read excerpts from On the Road
with musical accompaniment. Show starts at 7:30 PM.
CLASSICAL
JACK: SYMPHONIC COMPOSITIONS OF DAVID AMRAM AND DUKE ELLINGTON
Sunday
9/9 For the last days of the three month appearance of the original Scroll
for Kerouac's On the Road in Lowell, Amram's quartet joins Orchestra
New England conducted by Kaye Roberts. Flutist Fenwick Smith,
of the Boston Symphony, will be soloist in Amram's flute concerto "Giants
of the Night", commissioned and premiered by Sir James
Galway. The second movement of the concerto contains two French Canadian folk
songs which Kerouac learned as a child in Lowell. The orchestra will also perform
Amram's "En Memoria de Chano Pozo"
for Jazz Trio and Orchestra and Two Settings from On the Road for Narrator and
String Orchestra. Amram will also be a soloist in Duke Ellington' orchestral work
Three Black Kings. At the Merrimack
Repertory Theatre,4 PM,
tickets $15.
Click
Here To Read John Grady's recount of
these events in Lowell at
Foe
More of what's happening in Lowell, visit
Lowell
Celebrates Kerouac!
then
on a plane back to New York's Randall's Island for
Finale at Farm-Aid 2007!
AMRAM
PLAYS IN THE FINALE OF FARM AID WITH WILLIE NELSON AND HIS BAND
Sunday,
9/9 Amram catches a plane from Boston to New York directly after Lowell afternoon
concert in time to play finale at Farm
Aid concert at Randall's Island with Willie Nelson, David's
15th performance at Farm-Aid.
News
& Of Note - The Journey Goes On
- Celebrating 50 Years ofJack Kerouac's On The Road -
November finds David Amram in London, England from the 10th thru the 12th
for the 2nd London International Poetry And Song Festival
(LIPS II) continuing the celebration of Kerouac's spirit and legacy. Click
Here For More Info on David's On The Road Celebration in London
for LIPS II!
News,
New & Of Note - Jack's Last Call: Say
Goodbye to Kerouac - A AudioPlay adaptation of Kerouac's
Last Call has been produced by award winning audio dramatist
Sue Zizza and playwright Patrick Fenton specially for audio and
the public radio audience. Directed by Sue Zizza the AudioPlay stars Tony
Award winning actor, Len Cariou as The Reporter (The voice of the narrator)
Drew Keil as Jack Kerouac and features music by Jazz composer, original
Kerouac collaborator,
David Amram.
Upcoming
Events!
Of
Note! - A Celebration of An American Voice -
On February 24th, Family, Friends, Artists and keepers of The Flame
will gather to celebrate in Words and Song the LifeLoveWork of singer, songwriter
and social activist, Odetta
at Riverside Church
in NYC at 7 PM. This celebration is free and open to the public
with doors opening at 6 PM. Scheduled to lend Heart, Mind and Soul in song
and word are David Amram, Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, Oscar Brand, Tom Chapin,
Guy Davis, Ruby Dee, Emory Joseph, Wavy Gravy, Geoffrey Holder, The Holmes Bros.,
Marie Knight, Maria Muldaur, Bernice Reagon, Sonia Sanchez, Pete Seeger, Sweet
Honey in the Rock, Josh White, Jr., Peter Yarrow along with more special guests
YTBA
Memorial
Celebration for Odetta
Live!
on WBAI 99.5 FM - www.wbai.org
New
& Of Note! - The orginal Progressive
FM Radio station WBAI
FM 99.5 will be broadcasting Live from Riverside Church at 7 PM (EST)
and streaming Live on the Web! Click
Here To Listen Live!
News,
New & Of Note! - Poll Pop, Be-Bop On The
Mountaintop! David Anram In Denver - August
22nd through the 30th finds David in the Mile High city as Composer In Residence
for the 2008
Democratic National Convention. Sponsored by the Democratic
National Convention, The Denver Public
Library, The Nation and Rocky
Mountain PBS David has created an original musical program to be performed
at the Convention Center (August
24th, 5-7 PM).
Titled,
Outside of Convention: From Fannie Lou Hamer to Barack Obama,
How the Civil Rights Movement Changed American Politics, it will
premier the new song, "I Am",
a song about the political and social legacy of the Reverend
Jesse Jackson written for (and to be performed with) the Colorado
Children's Chorale.
During
David's week long dive into Denver he'll be performing with his Denver-Based Quartet
on August 25th, 4 PM at Dazzle
in a Special Benefit for KUVO
and WW0Z. (6
PM EDT) Click Here
To Listen Live on The Web! Also on August 25th, 9 PM
David appears as a guest artist with Tony Black's Quartet at El
Chapultepec Jazz Club .Check
Back Here Often for more dates to be added while David is in Denver!.
The
Celebration goes On!
Check
Back For More 50+
Years of Jack
Kerouac's
On The Road Celebration
Dates!
