David Werner Amram III (born November 17, 1930) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, and conductor of orchestral, chamber, and choral works, many with jazz flavorings.Chagollan, Steve, "The Extraordinary Career of David Amram"
MusicWorld, posted at BMI.com He plays piano, French horn, Spanish guitar, and pennywhistle, and sings.

Early life and education

Amram was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the son of legal scholar Philip Werner Amram. He studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1948–1949, and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in European history from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in 1952. In 1955 he enrolled at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

, where he studied under Dimitri Mitropoulos, Vittorio Giannini, and

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

. Under Schuller he studied French horn.

Career

Recording and performance

As a sideman or leader, Amram has worked with

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

, George Barrow, Jerry Dodgion, Paquito D'Rivera, Pepper Adams, Arturo Sandoval, Oscar Pettiford, Allen Ginsberg,

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...

, Kenny Dorham, Ray Barretto, Wynton Marsalis, and others.Interview: "David Amram, author of ''Offbeat: Collaborating with Kerouac''" at JerryJazzMusician
July 17, 2002David Amram bio
at ClearwaterFestival.org He has also worked with a wide range of folk, pop, and country figures, such as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, the Roche sisters,

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

, Odetta,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

, Oscar Brand,

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning nearly seven decades. An Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award-winning rec ...

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (May 31, 1938 – January 7, 2025) was an American singer and songwriter who found fame as a member of the 1960s folk music, folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary along with Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. Yarrow co-wrote (with Lenny Lipton ...

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter whose career spans more than sixty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

, Phil Ochs, Josh White,

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing protest song, songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his fa ...

, and others. In 1956, producer

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp is a pioneering figure in American theater, known for creating Shakespeare in the Park, which aimed to make classi ...

hired Amram to compose scores for the New York Shakespeare Festival. Over the years, Amram composed scores for 25 of Papp's productions, including a number of Shakespeare in the Park presentations. In 1961, he served as guest composer-in-residence for the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont.David Amram bio
at

Encyclopedia.com ''Encyclopedia.com'' is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information, images, and videos from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works. History The website was launched by Infonautics in March 1998. Infonautics w ...

In 1957, Amram, along with Jack Kerouac and poets Howard Hart and Philip Lamantia, staged one of the first poetry readings with jazz at the Brata Art Gallery on East 10th Street, in New York. In 1966

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

chose Amram as the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

's first composer-in-residence. He has performed as conductor and/or soloist with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra,

Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) is a major American orchestra based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The largest performing arts organization in Indiana, the orchestra was founded in 1930 and is based at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in downtown ...

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the curren ...

, Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, and for the National Jewish Arts Festival. He has conducted at New York's

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

and at

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designed by Max Abramovitz, was o ...

, among other prestigious venues. The

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999. Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...

sponsored a number of Amram's international musical tours, including visits to Brazil (1969); Kenya (1975); Cuba (1977); and the Middle East (1978). Amram's orchestral works include ''Symphonic Variations on a Song by

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

'', (commissioned by the Woody Guthrie Foundation and premiered in 2007) and ''Three Songs: A Concerto for Piano and Orchestra'' (written for and premiered by pianist Jon Nakamatsu in 2009). He conducted a 15-piece orchestra for Betty Carter's 1982 album '' Whatever Happened to Love?.'' Amram is a strong advocate for music education. For over a quarter-century he served as music director for youth and family concert programs for the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Amram has said: "It is tremendously important for professional people to work with the young. That is the way a true music culture is created—not through merchandising, but through love."

Film and television

In 1959, Amram wrote the score for and appeared in the Robert Frank/ Alfred Leslie short film '' Pull My Daisy'', which featured

, Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky and Gregory Corso. He composed scores for the

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

films '' Splendor in the Grass'' (1961) and '' The Arrangement'' (1969), and for the

John Frankenheimer John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits are ''Birdman of Alcatraz (film), Birdman of Alcatraz'', ''The Manc ...

films '' The Young Savages'' (1961) and '' The Manchurian Candidate'' (1962). (He composed the score for Frankenheimer's 1964 film '' Seven Days in May'', but it was rejected and replaced with a score by

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...

.) Amram composed the score for the 2001 documentary ''Boys of Winter'', about the lives of 1940s–50s

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

baseball stars

Pee Wee Reese Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. ...

and Carl Erskine. The feature was awarded the "Best Documentary Film" honor at that year's New York Independent Film Festival. In 2013, he wrote the score for the Michael Patrick Kelly comedy-drama '' Isn't It Delicious'', which starred Kathleen Chalfant and Keir Dullea.

Career sidelights

In a 2007 interview, he observed: "The pennywhistle is a versatile instrument. Just as a violin can be used for either classical or bluegrass, the pennywhistle can be used different ways. Audiences in Kenya enjoyed it when I went there for the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

and played African music in 1976. Dizzy Gillespie dug how I used the pennywhistle as a jazz instrument when I played with him in Havana in 1977." In his 1968 book ''Vibrations'', he describes making an omelette for

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

with "fried onions, marmalade, maple syrup, bacon, tomatoes, covered with hot mayonnaise with some garlic fried in it and a little cheese sauce", saying they "wolfed down portions of it" with

borscht Borscht () is a sour soup, made with meat stock, vegetables and seasonings, common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word ''borscht'' is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red b ...

and orange soda. Amram is mentioned in the popular children's song "Peanut Butter Sandwich" by

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian (, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is an Armenian-Canadian singer-lyricist and author born in Egypt best known for his children's music. In 1992, ''The Washington Post'' called him "the most p ...

, in the line "one for me and one for David Amram", a fact which Amram said "impressed" his children; Raffi later admitted that he had mentioned Amram because he "couldn't think of anything lseto rhyme with 'jam'."Amram shares "Southern Stories"
by Crystal Caviness, for

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

, published August 20, 1999; archived at DavidAmram.com; retrieved February 20, 2017

Discography

As leader

* ''The Eastern Scene'' (Decca, 1957) * ''The Young Savages'' (Columbia, 1961) * ''The Arrangement'' (Warner Bros., 1969) * ''No More Walls'' (RCA, 1971) * ''Subway Night'' (RCA Victor, 1973) * ''Triple Concerto for Woodwind, Brass, Jazz Quintets and Orchestra'' (RCA, 1974) * ''Summer Nights/Winter Rain'' (RCA Victor, 1976) * ''Havana/New York'' (Flying Fish, 1978) * ''At Home/Around the World'' (Flying Fish, 1980) * ''Autobiography'' (Flying Fish, 1982) * ''Latin-Jazz Celebration'' ( Elektra/Musician, 1983) * ''Live at Musikfest!'' (New Chamber Music, 1990) * ''An American Original'' (Newport Classic, 1993) * ''On the Waterfront On Broadway'' (Varèse Sarabande, 1995) * ''Three Concertos'' (Newport Classic, 1995) * ''The Final Ingredient'' (Premier, 1996) * ''The Manchurian Candidate'' (Premier, 1997) * ''Southern Stories'' (Chrome, 1999) * ''So in America: Selected Chamber Music Compositions 1958–2017'' (Affetto, 2018)

As sideman

* Pepper Adams, ''Modern Jazz Survey 2/Baritones & French Horns'' (Prestige, 1957) * Richard Barone, ''Sorrows & Promises'' (Ship to Shore, 2017) * David Bromberg, ''David Bromberg'' (Columbia, 1971) * Betty Carter, ''Betty Carter'' (Verve, 1990) * Kenny Dorham, ''Blue Spring'' (Riverside, 1959) * Kenny Dorham, ''Kenny Dorham and Friends'' (Jazzland, 1962) * Fireships, ''Fireships'' (Revelator Music, 2015) *

Curtis Fuller Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings. Early life Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 193 ...

, ''Curtis Fuller and Hampton Hawes with French Horns'' (Status, 1965) *

Steve Goodman Steven Benjamin Goodman (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song " City of New Orleans", which was recorded by artists including Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, The ...

, ''Say It in Private'' (Asylum, 1977) * Steve Goodman, ''Artistic Hair'' (Red Pajama, 1983) * Steve Goodman, ''The Easter Tapes'' (Red Pajama, 1996) *

, ''Crazy Rhythm'' (EmArcy, 1955) * Lionel Hampton, ''Jam Session in Paris'' (EmArcy, 1955) * Steve Martin, ''The Crow'' (Rounder, 2009) * Mat Mathews, ''4 French Horns Plus Rhythm'' (Elektra, 1957) * John McEuen, ''Roots Music Made in Brooklyn'' (Chesky, 2016) * T. S. Monk, ''Monk On Monk'' (N2K Encoded Music, 1997) * Oscar Pettiford, ''In Hi-Fi'' (ABC-Paramount, 1956) * Oscar Pettiford, ''Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi Vol. Two'' (ABC-Paramount, 1958) * Sal Salvador, ''Colors in Sound'' (Decca, 1958) *

, ''Tomorrow's Children'' (Appleseed, 2010) * Rosalie Sorrels, ''What Ever Happened to the Girl That Was'' (Paramount, 1973) * Kate Taylor, ''Kate Taylor'' (Columbia, 1978) * Happy Traum, ''Just for the Love of It'' (Lark's Nest Music, 2015) * Loudon Wainwright III, ''Album III'' (Columbia, 1972) *

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He also wrote t ...

, ''Too Old to Change'' (Elektra, 1979) *

, ''Music for Peace'' (Mary, 1970) * Mary Lou Williams, ''Mary Lou's Mass'' (Mary, 1975)

Bibliography

*1968: ''Vibrations: The Adventures and Musical Times of David Amram'' (Illustrated reprint 2001, Thunder's Mouth Press) *2002: ''Offbeat: Collaborating with Kerouac'' (Paradigm) *2007: ''Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat'' (Paradigm) *2008: ''Vibrations: The Adventures and Musical Times of David Amram'', new edition with introduction by historian

Douglas Brinkley Douglas Brinkley (born December 14, 1960) is an American author, Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities, and professor of history at Rice University. Brinkley is a history commentator for CNN, Presidential Historian for the New York Historica ...

(Paradigm) *1986: "Making Music" (Atheneum) by Arthur K. Paxton

References

External links

Official site

David Amram oral historyDavid Amram papers, 1937-2011
Music Division, The New York Public Library. *
Interview
at Pif Magazine

July 4, 1986 *
BBC Radio 3 - Sound of Cinema: David Amran, June 2020
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amram, David 1930 births Living people 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American classical composers 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American classical composers American autobiographers American classical horn players American film score composers American jazz horn players American lyricists American male conductors (music) American male film score composers American male non-fiction writers American memoirists American multi-instrumentalists Flying Fish Records artists George Washington University alumni Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Jazz-influenced classical composers Jewish American classical composers Jewish American memoirists Jewish American non-fiction writers Manhattan School of Music alumni Musicians from Philadelphia Oberlin Conservatory of Music alumni Progressive big band musicians The Putney School alumni RCA Records artists Songwriters from Pennsylvania