Marietta Bassist Returns to Original Source of Inspiration

The year is 1958, the city is San Francisco and the local scene is popping with the fervor of hip jazz clubs. 

Lyn DeRamus took note of jazz selections from a particular opera at the time, Porgy and Bess, saying, “I first heard the Miles Davis version of it in ’58 when I was in high school and got hooked.”

DeRamus describes Davis’ rendition of the popularized orchestra as an instrumental with a big band, something unique for the time. Davis was not the only contributor in influencing DeRamus, who is now a principal bass with both the Atlanta Ballet and Atlanta Opera. He also cites Jerry Mulligan and the Modern Jazz Quartet, both of which frequented the famed Black Hawk Club in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

But it was the Davis interpretation of Porgy and Bess that cemented his love of music.

DeRamus gets to play the George Gershwin opera with the Atlanta Opera during its
run of Porgy and Bess at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre from Feb. 26 through March 6. For ticket information, visit the centre's Web site.

DeRamus attributes his love and exposure to music to his parents, both of whom were musicians themselves. His father was an accomplished bass player, while his mother a pianist. Thus, music was a constant in his home while growing up.

However, it wasn’t until around the age of 12 that he was bitten by the music bug, shortly after moving to San Francisco. Warming up his skills in high school, he went on to study music at San Francisco State University where he met his mentor Charles Siani. Upon graduating from college, DeRamus opted for a career in the U.S. Army Band in Washington, D.C.

This would be his first professional gig, though he admits the choices were limited at the time.

“One thing lead to another, when I got out of college it was either be drafted [to the Vietnam War] or go into the Army band.”

DeRamus says the Army’s band gave him a foundation for his professional experience. Arriving in Atlanta in 1970, he found success with his audition for the Atlanta Symphony before deciding to go in a different direction a year later.

Life took a series of twists and turns as DeRamus became a freelancing bassist contracting out his talents to studio gigs and club dates. In 1981, he married the love of his life, Helen, and they began their journey together and started a family.

DeRamus speaks firm and steadfast on his commitment to his craft: “Once I started, I guess I just never considered anything else.”

With his wife a professional artist, DeRamus acknowledges times are good now but haven’t always been smooth sailing financially. He says as a couple they have “had some close calls,” but in the end they were able “to stay in the boat.”

The analogy is timely since DeRamus has managed to sail along in his career to become one of only a handful of senior talent on both the Atlanta Opera, which he joined in 1987, and the Atlanta Ballet in 1990. His other notable accomplishments include performing the Claude Bolling Suite for Flute with Jean-Pierre Rampal in the early 1980s and performing as a member of the Atlanta Virtuosi chamber ensemble, including its European tours in 1985 and 1987.

As for Porgy and Bess, DeRamus has played it twice and thinks it remains relevant. “It presents a certain period in history that should not be lost; I think there are elements of the story that resonate at anytime–universal feelings.”