A Prosaic Take on the Beat Era

The pre-boomer generation that reached maturity in the late 1940s and ‘50s saw the detached, bohemian culture of the jazz world as a hip refuge from the conservatism of postwar American society. And writers such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg quickly drew a following by linking method, subject and manner in their writings to their idealized perception of the jazz life.

Kerouac, at least, was fairly knowledgeable about the music. But, for most in the Beat Generation, the fascination with jazz had a lot more to do with attitude and lifestyle than with the music itself.

“Jazz Goes to the Movies: Hipsters, Jazz & the Beat Generation,” a Hollywood Arts Council production at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre on Saturday night, touched upon both aspects of those linkages via performances of music from “The Subterraneans” (based on Kerouac’s novel) and the documentary “Pull My Daisy” (with narration by Kerouac and music by David Amram) and a group of readings from Kerouac’s works. But Andre Previn’s score for “The Subterraneans” sounded like assembly-line, small-group West Coast jazz of the ‘50s. And a film clip from the picture, featuring--what else?--the Andre Previn trio--came across as a banal Hollywood effort, typically reducing a then-current trend to the lowest common denominator of popular perception.

Amram, a composer with far-ranging credits, was present for the first half of the program, offering some material from “Pull My Daisy” and reminiscing--in lengthy detail--about his performances with Kerouac (as well as dozens of other, non-Beat artists).

But a segment of jazz and poetry featuring actors Stella Stevens and Elliott Gould in Kerouac readings, with a quartet led by Amram, offered little more than words with musical accompaniment. And Jerry Stiller’s peculiar rendering of a piece Amram described as “In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee” had nothing to do with Mary Lou Williams’ original (which alto saxophonist Lanny Morgan--perhaps sardonically--spontaneously slipped in via a brief musical quote over the final chord).

The section featuring music from “The Subterraneans” was a bit better--less because of the compositions than due to the superb soloing by Morgan and bassist Bob Maize. But its most appealing moments came when trumpeter-comedian Jack Sheldon took center stage to deliver one spontaneous, hilarious quip, song and story after another. He would surely never describe himself as a Beat poet, but Sheldon’s largely impromptu remarks and gags were far closer to the true spirit of jazz than most of the Beat-associated efforts on the program.