Many Worlds of David Amram

Dean Birkenkamp has worked for 44 years in book publishing. Currently he is a Senior Editor with Routledge Publishers. He was the Founder and President of Paradigm Publishers, where he and his staff were fortunate to publish more than 800 books by leading scholars, journalists, musicians, and public intellectuals. An amateur pianist, he studied anthropology and music theory and composition at the University of Illinois—Champagne-Urbana. His previous book is Uncommon Sense from the Writings of Howard Zinn, with Howard Zinn and Wanda Rhudy.

"To do justice to the extraordinary depth and breadth of the art of the incomparable David Amram, one would need an encyclopedia--but this amazing book comes close. In essays of musicians from all over the globe a mosaic of this polymath emerges in vivid color. From chamber music to folk songs, from opera to the Jewish tradition, from jazz to Afro-Cuban culture, David’s music glows with absolute genius and his radiant love of humanity. A beautiful must-read volume, brilliantly curated by Dean Birkenkamp."—JoAnn Falletta, Grammy Award-winning Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic OrchestraPraise for David Amram:"Amram is a one-man folk festival…who was multicultural before multiculturalism existed."—The New York Times"Amram dazzled with his versatility .... One could be but awed by his range."—The London Times"David Amram is a musical catalyst and leader on a par with Leonard Bernstein, Pete Seeger, and Dizzy Gillespie."—Minneapolis Star & Tribune"A Godsend to those who believe in the power of music to change lives and inspire."—Wynton Marsalis"David Amram is one of the most versatile and skilled musicians America has ever produced."—Washington Post"David Amram is the Renaissance man of American music."—The Boston Globe"Truly American music. Amram, through his genius has built a marvelous musical tapestry, full of wonderful sounds and colors."—Eugene Ormandy"David Amram is a man of great humanity, wisdom, and generosity. A great story- teller. His music is magic. It takes you to another universe."—Barbara Kopple, Academy Award-winning film maker {Amram has} engaged with almost every identifiable genre – jazz, folk, rock, country, blues, Latin, the many variants of native America, to name only some. This composer’s lifelong romance with music of all colours, creeds and cultures has been a passionate affair. It has seen him promiscuously cross-fertilise the sounds of every continent in a simmering pot of melody and lyric, rhythm and rhyme, and I think Dean Birkenkamp’s engrossing, many-layered overview does fine justice to this many-faceted man and his diverse attainments.—Simon Warner, Research Fellow, University of Leeds, U. K., in Rock and Beat Generation

• Part I: Introductions How to Explain David Amram? by Dean Birkenkamp "All Joy" An Introduction to the Life-Artistry of David Amram, by Gary LippmanPart II: David Amram’s Symphonic and Chamber Compositions Amram’s Concert Hall Compositions, by Dean Birkenkamp David Amram’s Chamber Music, by Elmira Darvarova Premiering New Amram Compositions, by Kenneth Radnofsky This Land: Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie, by Laura Schulkind Sir James Galway: Commissioning and Premiering Giants of the Night, by Keith Marshall Conducting Amram’s Violin Concerto, by JoAnn Falletta Letting an Orchestra Feel Free and Inspired: The Art of Amram’s Conducting, by Howard Wall A Promising Old Composer: The Power of Creativity in Later Life, by John Leland Beethoven to Boxing: Artistry in Two Worlds, by Larry Merchant Part III: Opera and Theater Contributions of David Amram From Theater to Opera, by Dean Birkenkamp David Amram: A Jewish Life in Music: The Final Ingredient and other Important Compositions, by Jeff Janeczko The Essence of David Amram, by Keir Dullea Remembering the Premiere of Amram’s Opera Twelfth Night, by Christopher Alden and David Alden Filming Twelfth Night, by Lawrence KramanPart IV: Amram the Jazz Performer and Composer A Lifetime in Jazz, by Dean Birkenkamp David Amram’s Early Jazz Years and Collaborations, by Marc Myers Amram and Cuba: Varieties of Afro-Cuban and Latin Musics, by Arturo O’Farrill Innovations: Jamming with Amram Across the Decades, by Mark Morganelli David Amram is a Musical Instrument, by Malachy McCourt Now is the Time as Creative Manifestation of Consciousness, by Hugh Ragin No More Walls: The Ever-Wider World of David Amram, by David ColePart V: The Songs of David Amram From Orchestral Compositions to Spontaneous Lyrics, by Dean Birkenkamp A Composer’s Way with Words, by Hassan Melehy The Songs of David Amram: Jazz, Classical, Film, and Operatic Compositions, by Gerald Bieritz Scat and Make-Up Songs: The Art of One-Time Only Rap Reporting, by David Amram Bourbon is Vegetarian, By Kurt Elling and David Amram Part VI: The Whole Wide World of Amram’s Folk Performance Performing the World’s Music, by Dean BirkenkampMelding Folk and Symphonic: Commissioning This Land, by Nora Guthrie Remembering Odetta: 40 Years of Midnight Adventures, with Kris Kristofferson, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, and Others, by David Amram Peforming Folk Music in Many Venues, by John McEuen The Dean of Hangout-ology at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, by Deana McCloud A Unique Performer in the Folk World, by Barry Ollman Musical Adventures with David Amram, by Radoslav Lorkovic David Amram Doesn’t Play Music, by John CooperPart VII: Amram the Author—and His Collaborations with Writers David Amram’s Literary Endeavors, by Dean Birkenkamp Langston Hughes, Jack Kerouac, David Amram, by Ronald Martinetti Let Us Remember: Review of the Cantata by Langston Hughes and David Amram, by Paul Hertelendy Vibrations, Musical Differences, Life with Others, by Charles Lemert On Amram’s Book Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat, by Frank McCourt "Life is Even More Fun at 90" Amram and the Kerouac Legacy, by Holly George WarrenPart VIII: Hollywood and Beyond: Amram’s Film Scores From the Village to Hollywood, by Dean Birkenkamp Frankenheimer, Sinatra, and the Scoring of The Manchurian Candidate, by Neil Hickey The Manchurian Candidate: The Novel, the Film, the Music, by Geoff Wills Cinema’s Elusive Musical Poet: Scoring Splendor in the Grass, by Steve VertliebPart IX: Amram’s Legacy: Mixing Musical Styles and Performance Traditions Hearing a Singular Sound in the Universe, by Dean Birkenkamp Amram’s Musical Bouillabaisse, by Larry Kirwan At Home Around the World, by David Amram David Amram and Native American Musical Performance, by Matoaka Little Eagle Native Flutes and Friendship, by Louis Mofsie Diamonds in the Sidewalk: Kerouac, Amram, and the Bells of Hell, by Robin Hirsch The Village and the Man Who Makes It Live On, By Elizabeth Thomson An Icon of Inclusion and Pioneer of World Music, by Douglas Brinkley Part X: Coda You are Only as Old as You Make Other People Feel, by David Amram