Come join us at the GonzoFest New York City, and maybe you will have moments like the one below. I salute jazz and composer legend – and the word really applies in this case – David Amram on his birthday, which just past.
You could not find more of a kind, considerate person than David Amram. But also more gifted. More spirited. More of an artistic powerhouse. I was hesitant to meet him, holding back. But I heard him say something and, sparked by just having been on the Friends of Hunter S. Thompson panel with him, I went over. I said a few words about Anatole Broyard being from New Orleans because I knew David, from way back in the 1960s, knew him. His answer was warm, but also he mentioned The Hell’s Angels Letters, which he had learned of during the panel and he had never heard of it. Seeing how curious he was, I spontaneously took the book I just happened to be holding in my hand, the only paperback I had brought to the event – the three hard covers had sold – thrust it out to him and said, “Would you like this copy?” He immediately said yes. I was quite amazed that he had been so incredibly approachable and also interested. But I shouldn’t have been surprised because curiosity is a hallmark of the artist. If you don’t have that, I don’t think you can be an artist.
Later, after I was blown away by his performance that night, never having heard him play with a band and even sing and i love jazz – I saw him leaving. Of course, people surrounded him. But before he got away, he turned to me and said he was going to read the Letters book that night.
