Twenty-eight years later, Amram recounted, “I joined Dizzy, Stan Getz and Earle "Fatha" Hines in March of 1977 where each of our respective bands gave the first-ever concert in Cuba since the revolution, with the sanction of the US State Department. The entire concert was dedicated to the memory of Chano Pozo. The Carter administration indicated that they thought it might be a good will trip.” In the moment, good will prevailed, “At the concert, with only a minute of a backstage outline to all the musicians, I was joined by trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist Paquito d'Rivera and the great family drum ensemble Los Papines.”
Subsequently, Gillespie urged Amram to create an orchestral version of En Memoria. Despite lacking a commission to pay for it, the composer had begun work on it when fortune smiled. James Dixon, conductor of the Quad City Symphony in Davenport, Iowa, asked for a piece for the Symphony youth orchestra that matched Amram’s specs perfectly.
The composer outlines the piece, “The somber piano introduction, serving as a hymn for the late master drummer, is followed by the theme, a lively melody on the piano accompanied by the percussion playing in what is called a 2/4 clave, which is then repeated by the whole orchestra. The clave pattern then changes to a guaguanco or Rhumba clave and is developed as the solo trumpet and then the flute perform in the tradition of combining with the fiery polyrhythms of AfroCuban dance music—all leading up to the division of the orchestra clapping in four distinct sections.” At that point the audience, also divided into four sections, joins the performers, “so that the entire hall is transformed into a giant rhythm ensemble with eight separate rhythms, all of which fit together. As the eight parts are all clapped, the percussion players then solo, and after the percussionists are through, the solemn opening hymn returns, played by the orchestra, and then the main theme is restated, leading to a fiery conclusion.”
© 2019 Symphony Silicon Valley / P.O. Box 790, San Jose, CA 95106-0790 / 325 South First Street, San Jose, CA 95113 / Phone: (408) 286-2600
Subsequently, Gillespie urged Amram to create an orchestral version of En Memoria. Despite lacking a commission to pay for it, the composer had begun work on it when fortune smiled. James Dixon, conductor of the Quad City Symphony in Davenport, Iowa, asked for a piece for the Symphony youth orchestra that matched Amram’s specs perfectly.
The composer outlines the piece, “The somber piano introduction, serving as a hymn for the late master drummer, is followed by the theme, a lively melody on the piano accompanied by the percussion playing in what is called a 2/4 clave, which is then repeated by the whole orchestra. The clave pattern then changes to a guaguanco or Rhumba clave and is developed as the solo trumpet and then the flute perform in the tradition of combining with the fiery polyrhythms of AfroCuban dance music—all leading up to the division of the orchestra clapping in four distinct sections.” At that point the audience, also divided into four sections, joins the performers, “so that the entire hall is transformed into a giant rhythm ensemble with eight separate rhythms, all of which fit together. As the eight parts are all clapped, the percussion players then solo, and after the percussionists are through, the solemn opening hymn returns, played by the orchestra, and then the main theme is restated, leading to a fiery conclusion.”
© 2019 Symphony Silicon Valley / P.O. Box 790, San Jose, CA 95106-0790 / 325 South First Street, San Jose, CA 95113 / Phone: (408) 286-2600