David Amram: Valley Guy

When jazz artist and composer David Amram sent me an e-mail a couple of days ago to say that his Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie was archived on the web, I took a listen. The work—performed in September by California's Symphony Silicon Valley and conducted by Paul Polivnick—is inventive, heart-felt and distinctly American. In short, it's fabulous.

To be honest, my first thought after reading David's e-mail had nothing to do with music. Instead, I couldn't help but smile when imagining the Beat Generation's musical wild man hobnobbing with angel investors and billionaire software developers. Man, what I would have given to have been a fly on that liquid crystal display.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that David and the digital dudes aren't so different after all. David is a major league risk-taker and tireless creative force. So are many of those guys. David is far out, in the best sense of the term. So are they. Hmm, I thought, perhaps David in the Valley with his Variations was a perfect match. Through this one composition, he may have found the bridge between New York intensity and San Jose eccentricity.

Then again, I've never known David to bear grudges or grind axes. He loves everyone, especially those who prize creativity and curiosity. So David in Silicon Valley is really no different than David in Cairo, Dublin or Miami. As David would say, "It's about music, baby, the universal cosmic language."

As readers of this blog know, I'm predisposed to David and his music—whether the compositions are jazz, classical, folk or World. David brings a tremendous amount of energy and excitement to every project he takes on. And anyone who pushes the envelope artistically the way David does is my kind of guy. (See my interview series with David last fall under "JazzWax Interviews" in the right-hand column.)

In his Symphonic Variations, David takes folk legend Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land and turns it inside out, infusing the song with classical, folk and jazz elements. The result is pure American impressionism.

And that's the appeal of David's classical works. They sound like they're from here, not there. In his Variations, you hear the spirit of Guthrie's populist message without the politics or pandering. You hear the small towns and cities of America, not Europe. You hear the Plains, the Rockies, the creak of wooden floors, the whispery sound of Aspens blowing, the groans of working stiffs and the joyful sound of kids playing. Variations is a virtual cross-country musical road trip. And no one does virtual better than Silicon Valley.

JazzWax tracks: To hear Symphony Silicon Valley perform David's Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie, go here. (That's Paul Polivnick, right, conducting the September performance.) Scroll a little to the "play list." For now, each of the six variations must be activated separately. So you'll have to click on the next link when one Variation ends. David says all six should be combined into one link soon.

JazzWax extra: For an inexpensive taste of David's eclectic classical-jazz work, download his Triple Concerto, performed by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. You can download it here for only $3.96.

JazzWax backstory: For more about David's Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie, go here and read Richard Scheinin's article in the San Diego Mercury.