The Art & Science of Hang-out-ology: David Amram in Conversation with Cliff Pearson

David Amram, “Renaissance Man of American Music” and real-life Zelig, is now in his sixth year as Artist Emeritus of The Village Trip, having enthusiastically agreed to perform at the inaugural festival in 2018 when it was little more than a few paragraphs of ideas. He is the spirit of the festival, and a link to more than a half-century of fabled Village history. Indeed, David has lived much of it—hanging out with the Abstract Expressionists who changed the course of art, jamming with Parker, Monk and Mingus who changed the course of jazz, and composing for the great Joe Papp, who changed the course of theater.

He was Composer and Music Director for the Lincoln Center Theater, working with Arthur Miller, and was appointed by Leonard Bernstein to be the New York Philharmonic’s first Composer in Residence. With his buddy Jack Kerouac, he brought jazz and poetry to New York, and he’s played at every Farm Aid with his pal Willie Nelson. At 93, he’s still playing gigs in the US and abroad, as well as composing and conducting.