Past Event: Voices of the Village with David Amram & Friends

This event is Session III in our Vibe of the Village Festival. For more sessions and details, click here.

Legendary musician David Amram and his quintet lead an evening of songs, stories, and readings celebrating the creativity of the Village in the late 1950s through the '70s. A fascinating and humorous raconteur who experienced the neighborhood firsthand during this time, Amram will bring to life the essence of this moment in the city’s history along with guest performers Tom Chapin, Lea DeLaria, Martha Redbone, and Paquito D’Rivera.

Please note: Josh White Jr. is no longer able to participate. 

About the Performers:
David Amram is a composer, conductor, and musician. He began his career as a French Hornist in the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington D.C., then moved to New York City in 1955 and played French horn in the bands of Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, and Oscar Pettiford. In 1957, he created and performed in the first ever jazz/poetry readings in the city with Jack Kerouac. Amram has composed the scores for many films, was the composer and music director for the Lincoln Center Theater, and was the first composer in residence for the New York Philharmonic. 

Tom Chapin is a singer/songwriter and three-time Grammy winner known both as a contemporary folk artist and a children's musician.  He got his start playing in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, and in 1971 began a five-year run as the host of the children's series Make A Wish. His first solo album, Life Is Like That, was released in 1976. Chapin played the lead role in the Broadway production of Pump Boys and Dinettes. His latest album At the Turning Point was recorded live in concert in December 2017.

Lea DeLaria is a three time SAG Award winning actor, comedian, and jazz singer most notably known for her stand out role of ‘Big Boo’ in Netflix’s hit series Orange is the New Black, and she was the first openly gay comic on Television in America. DeLaria can be seen on television the upcoming HULU series Reprisal, as well as The Code, Shameless, and Broad City. Selected films include Cars 3, Support The Girls, and The First Wives Club. She was the featured vocalist at the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival, and has performed in some of the most prestigious houses in the world. House of David delaria+bowie=jazz was released in Summer 2015 to critical acclaim. 

Martha Redbone is one of today’s most vital voices in American Roots music. A multi award-winning musician, the charismatic songstress is celebrated for her tasty gumbo of roots music embodying the folk and mountain blues sounds of her childhood in the Appalachian hills of Kentucky mixed with the eclectic grit of her teenage years in pre-gentrified Brooklyn. With the power of her gospel singing African-American father’s voice, and the determined spirit of her Cherokee/Shawnee/Choctaw mother, Redbone broadens all boundaries of Americana.

NEA Jazz Master Paquito D'Rivera defies categorization. Born in Havana, Cuba, he performed at age 10 with the National Theater Orchestra, studied at the Havana Conservatory of Music and, at 17, became a featured soloist with the Cuban National Symphony. As a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, he directed that group for two years, while at the same time playing both the clarinet and saxophone with the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra.  He is the recipient of the Frankfurter Musikpreis, John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition, National Medal of the Arts, Living Jazz Legend Award-The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Medal of Honor-The National Arts Club, and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Award.

The David Amram Quintet is:
David Amram - piano, flutes, percussion, vocals
Vic Juris - guitar
Rene Hart - bass
Kevin Twigg - drums and glockenspeil
Adam Amram - congas
Elliot Peper - bongos

This program accompanies our exhibition The Voice of the Village: Fred W. McDarrah Photographs (on view through December 1, 2019).