I love you Milford graves!!!

yeahhh, i've ordered that, along with CvD's new Joe McPhee thing.

Amazing article about Graves. Dude is truly an American hero.

Everyone should watch Full Mantis even if you don't have any interest in jazz, drums, or unfamiliar with his music, it isn't really about that, it is a movie about life

Interesting. Still alive 2 years or so after doctor thought he might only have 6 months

Since the 1970s, Mr. Graves has studied the heartbeat as a source of rhythm and has maintained that recording musicians’ most prevalent heart rhythms and pitches, and then incorporating those sounds into their playing, would help them produce more personal music.

He also believes that heart problems can be helped by recording a patient’s unhealthy heart and musically tweaking it into a healthier rhythm to use as biofeedback.

full mantis is such an incredible movie

Interesting. Still alive 2 years or so after doctor thought he might only have 6 months

Not surprised. I've never in my life encountered anyone who was as health-conscious and, for lack of a better term, in tune with the human body as Milford.

sounds like one of the more apt terms tbh !

I remember once during class he asked a student to hold Milford’s wrist, to feel his pulse. Milford closed his eyes, seemed to shiver a little, and the student said, “wait, the pulse is gone...[distressingly long pause]...[Milford shivers again]...oh, there it is.”

By day, Milford Graves is a mild-mannered jazz musician who leads a quiet life tending his zen garden and looking after a curious collection of African artifacts. When night falls, and duty calls, he becomes Full Mantis: a master of martial arts and the world's most dangerous freeform assassin. He can make your heart — or his — stop in an instant. He can unleash a killer fury of syncopated blows. But he always knows when to fall back in the groove, jack, so don't you skip a beat.

Hahaha

My copy of The Complete Yale Concert, 1966 finally arrived today after being shipped from Chicago to New Jersey on August 4.

Wow, Full Mantis. What an incredible film.

'Full Mantis' not just favorite music film of the year, it's just... favorite full stop

Like absolutely anyone who posts to this list, I can nearly promise you you want to see this film

Yes, it's an all time great!

BTW, you should sign up for this:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-discussion-of-milford-graves-full-mantis-with-director-jake-meginsky-tickets-128016592073

I'd seen his name on the credits of various records, but I didn't know anything about him personally until I read the chapter on Babi in John Corbett's Pick Up the Pieces. I'm making a point of seeing this film ASAP.

Finally got a chance to watch this doc - really good! I just wish someone had warned me how unexpectedly trippy it is. I took an edible before I watched it and that was uh, very interesting

thanks for the suggestion

you've been warned!

It really is, I got a bit drunk while watching it but the combined experience of the film and alcohol was more druglike/hallucinatory.

This is one of those threads that fills me with dread whenever it's revived.

I thought about that right after I posted, yeah. Sorry. I considered not clicking on the Ghedalia Tazartes thread yesterday for the same reason

watching the doc is totally like having a really good / profound trip. it's wonderful.

nourishing, inspiring, etc.

where did people watch this? is it worth paying for on vimeo

This is one of those threads that fills me with dread whenever it's revived.

― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, February 10, 2021 10:21 AM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Seriously, especially considering his recent health issues.

And yeah, the doc is brilliant. Absolutely a must-see for anyone even mildly curious about...well, music.

Pretty sure it's on Kanopy, possibly also Amazon, and is out on DVD.

(xp)

I did love this film, the warm videography captured the intimacy of his house and garden. It had a balance of his history, his current interests, and his philosophical thoughts.

NPR just got confirmation that Milford Graves — drummer, professor, researcher, gardener — died today from congestive heart failure. His music and way of being was an elevation, rhythmically moving with the universe.

— Lars Gotrich 🍷🌊 (@totalvibration) February 12, 2021

:-(

Gutted

what a lame week

This picture of Milford Graves and Chick Corea in the same band (led by conga player Roger "Montego Joe" Sanders) is great.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EuEIzCLWgAUdIbN.jpg

Glad I saw him once, with Jason Moran in a packed theater at Big Ears in 2018.

Glad I saw him live too — his folding chair, his bongos, it was a huge inspiration for me. I hope his beautiful spirit is at peace.

very sad. full mantis is a very enjoyable watch for those who haven't seen it.

i saw him play in the moma with john zorn in front of the pollock exhibit. def one of the best things that ever happened to me

fuck

RIP. Listening to Black Woman now.

shit. what an amazing artist.

How is the Yale Concert reissue???? In depth, please.

In terms of sound quality, or in terms of performance? It's mastered from ultra-clean vinyl, presumably Graves' own unopened copies, so there's a tiny bit of hiss and crackle here and there but not much. The recording quality is good if primitive — it was clearly taped live in a room not built for recording, but it's plenty loud, Graves' drums often louder than Pullen's piano. The music is extremely free, pounding and clanging, as heavy and out as free jazz ever got. I'd call it essential, and I'm sure it's gonna go out of print again very soon, so for anyone who doesn't already have it:

https://www.corbettvsdempsey.com/2020/09/30/record-complete-yale-concert-1966__trashed/

If you can find a copy of thhe Bäbi reissue (Corbett vs Dempsey is out of stock), it's essential, too, especially since it contains a second, previously unreleased CD of the same trio (Graves, Arthur Doyle, and Hugh Glover) from 1969:

https://www.corbettvsdempsey.com/2018/10/16/album-babi__trashed/

Shamefully unfamiliar with his work, any recommendations for where to start?

For something relatively straightforward (as in, he's playing a "beat" through much of it), try Sonny Sharrock's Black Woman. Albert Ayler's Love Cry is kinda easy to get into as well, at least as far as Ayler/free jazz is concerned. For something more recent, try Beyond Quantum, a 2004 or so trio album with Anthony Braxton on saxes and William Parker on bass.

Giuseppi Logan, Eddie Gomez, Milford Graves, 8th Street Bookstore, NYC, 1965

📸 Eddie Hauser pic.twitter.com/xkUMqRu06f

— jeff (@jazyjef) February 13, 2021

nice pic here as well

Jake Meginsky just made available this beautiful previously unreleased video of MIlford Graves in his garden ♥️♥️♥️ https://t.co/mGcwzxgOkM

— Fielding Hope (@fieldinghope) February 13, 2021

pic.twitter.com/2Uu3BNrzss

— Jake Meginsky (@jakemessmeg) February 13, 2021

RIP :(

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/13/milford-graves-jazz-drummer-dies-aged-79

Thanks guys!
Graves' drums often louder than Pullen's piano. The music is extremely free, pounding and clanging, as heavy and out as free jazz ever got. Ah, say no more, I'll get on it, and seek out the Corbett V Dempsey and Ayler (Black Woman has long been a v. personal talisman).

I think I'm mainly just listening to the New York Art Quartet's Call It Art collection today because of course they are one of the best bands ever to exist

My oiriginal copy of the New York Art Quartet's ESP Disc. My first exposure to Milford Graves! Sorry for the terrible physical shape the cover is in, i got it when I was 13, still one of my favorite albums. pic.twitter.com/KD2Iqzx7tT

— Alan Braufman (@AlanBraufman) February 14, 2021