Jack [Kerouac] felt and acted and lived in that open warm and human way, knowing that an artist has nothing of lasting value to offer the world if they allow themselves to be turned into a mirror image of swinish selfish egotistical uncaring types who flatter them while abusing others..
Whenever we would see one of our friends do a little better than others and suddenly become abusive, i used to quote to Jack the killer line form the old Hebrew prayer from the Yiskor.... "Let not the oppressed becomed the oppressor"
Jack used to chuckle when he would hear the whole chorus and orchestra singing that phrase, on the recording from the San Francisco Opera House, which i gave him a copy of from the radio broadcast.
By the time I wrote the cantata in 1965, Jack had become used to hearing me years before that, rapping out that great line, usually after 3 am when we were both totally unknown (1956 before "On the Road' was out and I was working part time in the Post Office).
During our midnight to dawn philosophy sesions, I would try to outdo his singing of old French-Canadian folksongs he had learned in his hometown of Lowell, Mass, or between breaths when he would scat Lester Young sax solos, and I would have a chance to fill up the pauses between his renditions of songs with my incantations.
Much of this late night/early morning hyper-activity ended up in part, in his books and my symphonies in some form years later.
I am writing you from San Jose California, after a few days of R+R at our farm, in the isolated bliss of NOTHING-HAPPENINGS-VILLE, after just coming back from London, at the end of a frantic but joyous crazed action-packed September with a series of events I was invited to do, most of which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the publication of On the Road, which are still continuing around the world, as well as my musical contributions when collaborating with him, and performances of my own work.
The people in London LOVE Jack's work, and Howard Cunnell, editor of the Scroll, and author Carolyn Cassady were both marvelous at the big event we did at the British Library.
Somehow, the great Career Councilor in the Sky gave me enough energy to make my marathon of back to back activities this month.
My nonstop grind began after doing a three hour show at the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC Thursday night Sept 6th, I packed up my bags and instruments, and squashed into my Toyota Echo, with my son Adam and actor John Ventimiglia (known by all as Artie Bucco in The Sopranos, and a fabulous Kerouac reader.
I was the designated driver, and drove for five hours from Manhattan at 2 a.m. after the concert to Lowell and arrived at 7 a.m.
After a one hour nap, I had a three hour morning rehearsal with the young conductor Kay George Roberts for our classical symphony concert, then went to the sound check in the park, and after a late afternoon nap for two hours, played the outdoor jazz/world music concert that night.
During the concert, we also accompanied John Ventimiglia as he read excerpts from the Scroll with my music. Guest musicians from Norman Guibault's wonderful Montreal band sat in later on when we performed music by Dizzy Gillespie, and they were great!!
Then Sunday, right after the concert was over, at 6 PM, I rushed to the airport in Boston, jumped on a shuttle plane to LaGuardia Airport in NYC, grabbed a cab to nearby Randall's Island Stadium and played in the finale of the concert for Farm Aid as a guest artist with Willy Nelson and his band at 10:45 that night. Willy, Neil Young and all who do this every year were as wonderful as always, and it was great to be with them, and play with them again, as I do every year.
Then I flew back to Boston the next morning, Monday the 10th, to do a concert with my son playing congas with me, at Rivier College in New Hampshire that night. Rev. Steve Ellington joined us and was terrific, reading about Nashua and from his book about JK and spirituality.
Then I drove back home to the farm the following day.
It was a crazy schedule, but it was so interesting that I forgot how tiring it was.
Then Saturday the 15th, I presented an afternoon concert for the Harold Clurman Festival in NYC, showing the young actors how Arthur Miller, Kazan, Harold Clurman and the other founders of the Lincoln Center Theater all worked together and gave me a chance, as their composer for three years, to learn how to collaborate with others in the same way that i did with artists in the worlds of jazz, symphonic and World music.
Then four hours later that night, I jumped on the plane for London for a series of events at the British Library, performing, reading etc celebrating On the Road's 50th, as well as performing music I had written from my work with the New York Shakespeare Festival from 1956-67, including my opera Twelfth Night.
And now, after a four days at Peekskill Hollow Farm in upper New York State, I'm here on the West Coast for rehearsals for the World Premiere Sept 29th of my just completed Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie.
And then, every where I go until X-Mas, I am giving readings and signings, (in conjunction with my concerts) for my new book, Upbeat: Nine Lives of a Musical Cat, which is being published this October, and a bunch of other hyper-activities, all of which are listed on my web page www.davidamram.com on section called Upcoming Events/Personal Appearances.
And I am starting a new piano concerto. Due to be premiered in Jan of '09!!!
I feel blessed that I am able to do the things I love to do and still able to do them. My frequent flyer miles are piling up!! And I don't have any time to get into trouble!!
And as always, I can hardly wait to get back to Lowell. I don't even know why, but there is a special feeling there that has some spiritual force that is different from any place, and always reminds me of the happy times I had with Jack so long ago, which always get telescoped in time whenever I am there.
All the recent activities in the USA and abroad celebrating On the Road have really made a difference in the way Jack and his work are being viewed, and the Beat albatross is being replaced by a real appreciation of Jack as an artist and great man of letters.
And this gives countless people hope to keep persevering and never giving up pursuing their dreams.
And you can't beat that!!
I just hope that some of what I do will encourage younger people to see that whatever you have to do to pay your rent, you can continue to pursue what is in your heart, regardless of how long it takes to get to do it, and enjoy every minute of your life working in the arts.
I hope you are thriving, and I send cheers always and hope that our paths will soon cross again on what seems like that endless road.
Until then, stay joyous and positive and don't let the deleterious forces of the so called adult world ever stop you from being creative!!
Looking forward to some hangoutology soon!
David
(Nephew of the great Slavic novelist Antonin Spelczech)