Offbeat

Publishers Weekly

In the late 1950s, musician and composer Amram (Vibrations) pulled frequent all-nighters with Jack Kerouac and pals. The artists drank Thunderbird, smoked pot and recited spontaneous poems while Amram belted his French horn. In 1957, Amram and Kerouac went public with the act at a small East Village gallery; two years later, they documented their unique teamwork in the short film Pull My Daisy. They never worked together again: Kerouac moved with his mother to Florida, where he became increasingly reclusive and enfeebled by alcohol, and Amram went on to compose more than 100 orchestral and chamber pieces and wrote scores for such films as The Manchurian Candidate. In this memoir, the author hopes to clear up "decades of misinformation and mythology" about Kerouac and many of the other poets, painters and artists of the so-called Beat movement (a label he vehemently rejects). Unfortunately, the characters Amram renders come off as unreal as the stereotypes he wishes to destroy. Readers interested in Kerouac should look elsewhere. Memory Babe: A Cultural Biography of Jack Kerouac by Gerald Nicosia is the most comprehensive biography. For a more personal account, read former Kerouac lover Joyce Johnson's memoir Minor Characters. Photos not seen by PW. (Mar.) Forecast: As with most things Kerouackian, this book is sure to attract the many, still cultish, fans. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Following the reissue of his earlier biography, Vibrations, this engaging memoir focuses on American composer Amram's lifelong friendship with Jack Kerouac, recounting their early meetings in Greenwich Village, collaborations on jazz-poetry readings at New York City venues like the Brata Gallery and the Circle in the Square Theater, and legendary work on Robert Frank's 1959 film Pull My Daisy. Amram has little use for the naysaying critics who were quick to label his friends "beatniks" and "know-nothing bohemians." His memoir, an upbeat celebration of the spirit that inspired the poetry of Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, also documents the continuing influence and growing recognition of the Beat movement, as Amram discusses his current participation in various recording projects and academic conferences related to Kerouac and the Beat generation. Amram's distinctive voice is a refreshing antidote to much of the hype surrounding the Beats. Recommended for academic and public libraries. William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

From composer Amram (Vibrations, not reviewed), a pleasingly exuberant memoir of wildly creative and encouraging times performing with Jack Kerouac. It's not so much an autobiography really as an unpretentious, freewheeling festival of highly diverting tales: the nights Amram and his Beat buddy spent at the Five Spot and Bickford's and Circle-in-the-Square; their early improvisations, such as Orizaba 210 Blues; making Pull My Daisy with Alfred Leslie as their contribution to the New Cinema; the pleasures of working with lyric artists; the downtown life in New York City, "checking out old friends, rapping with strangers and hanging out in the style that was still the major source of Saturday night entertainment." But beyond telling some good stories, Amram wants to convey what his group of pals was all about, to get past the Beatniks as a merchandising trend and reveal their motivations. This never comes across as a lecture; Amram is too passionate for that, and he has a way with the patter: "We were told we were offbeat, but we felt we were on the case." Amram serves up Corso, Ginsberg, Orlovsky, and others as decidedly quirky but generous souls welcoming to the table everyone who had an open heart. They were looking for "the diamonds in the sidewalk," always "trying to catch lightning in a bottle," free spirits who took their creativity seriously, even if some realized too late that creativity was a "natural gift" that didn't require diving to the bottom of a bottle. Creative output would be their measure, not the limelight-or as Gary Goodrow said, "If you stick to your principles long enough, you can successfully avoid being fashionable for the rest of your life." Amram includesstories about shows that used Kerouac material after he had died. A piece of pure entertainment that also reveals the individuality of Amram's friends and gives the Beat stereotype its walking papers. (8 b&w photos, not seen)