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
― Paul Ponzi, Wednesday, 10 February 2021 14:48 (three years ago) link
thanks for the suggestion
― Left, Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:06 (three years ago) link
you've been warned!
― Paul Ponzi, Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:12 (three years ago) link
It really is, I got a bit drunk while watching it but the combined experience of the film and alcohol was more druglike/hallucinatory.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:20 (three years ago) link
This is one of those threads that fills me with dread whenever it's revived.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:21 (three years ago) link
I thought about that right after I posted, yeah. Sorry. I considered not clicking on the Ghedalia Tazartes thread yesterday for the same reason
― Paul Ponzi, Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:23 (three years ago) link
watching the doc is totally like having a really good / profound trip. it's wonderful.
― lord of the ting tings (map), Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:39 (three years ago) link
nourishing, inspiring, etc.
― lord of the ting tings (map), Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:41 (three years ago) link
where did people watch this? is it worth paying for on vimeo
― Left, Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:50 (three years ago) link
― 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.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 10 February 2021 15:51 (three years ago) link
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.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 10 February 2021 23:02 (three years ago) link
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
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 12 February 2021 23:52 (three years ago) link
:-(
Gutted
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Saturday, 13 February 2021 00:00 (three years ago) link
what a lame week
― tylerw, Saturday, 13 February 2021 00:00 (three years ago) link
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
― but also fuck you (unperson), Saturday, 13 February 2021 00:04 (three years ago) link
Glad I saw him once, with Jason Moran in a packed theater at Big Ears in 2018.
― Mosholu Porkway (Boring, Maryland), Saturday, 13 February 2021 00:16 (three years ago) link
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.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Saturday, 13 February 2021 00:59 (three years ago) link
very sad. full mantis is a very enjoyable watch for those who haven't seen it.
― Dusty Benelux (jim in vancouver), Saturday, 13 February 2021 01:00 (three years ago) link
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
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 13 February 2021 01:59 (three years ago) link
RIP. Listening to Black Woman now.
― to party with our demons (Sund4r), Saturday, 13 February 2021 02:08 (three years ago) link
shit. what an amazing artist.
― sknybrg, Saturday, 13 February 2021 03:04 (three years ago) link
How is the Yale Concert reissue???? In depth, please.
― dow, Saturday, 13 February 2021 03:11 (three years ago) link
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/
― but also fuck you (unperson), Saturday, 13 February 2021 13:13 (three years ago) link
Shamefully unfamiliar with his work, any recommendations for where to start?
― Dan Worsley, Saturday, 13 February 2021 13:21 (three years ago) link
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.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Saturday, 13 February 2021 13:37 (three years ago) link
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
― calzino, Saturday, 13 February 2021 13:55 (three years ago) link
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
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 13 February 2021 14:43 (three years ago) link
pic.twitter.com/2Uu3BNrzss— Jake Meginsky (@jakemessmeg) February 13, 2021
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 13 February 2021 17:19 (three years ago) link
RIP :(
― pomenitul, Saturday, 13 February 2021 17:43 (three years ago) link
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/13/milford-graves-jazz-drummer-dies-aged-79
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 13 February 2021 21:59 (three years ago) link
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).
― dow, Sunday, 14 February 2021 02:27 (three years ago) link
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
― calzino, Sunday, 14 February 2021 09:17 (three years ago) link
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
― calzino, Sunday, 14 February 2021 11:09 (three years ago) link
"Love Cry" is the first time I ever heard him, when I was getting into jazz and trying to find all these records/artists I was reading about. His drumming struck me immediately, different from anything else I had heard, flat & cardboard-y, the drums didn't drive the music, they pushed and spread everything out, they were everywhere at once. I always kept a look out for his name, "Milford Graves" always signified an otherness to me, that if his name was on there it was going to be a special record.
And not a huge discography (or at least one that was easy to track down) so aside from those ESP-Disk records and dodgy boots of "Babi" and "Nommo" over the yrs he was always someone I looked out for, esp after seeing that Mouthful of Sweat footage of him with Brotz & Parker. And I knew from interviews that he had a totally different take on the world then even other "out" dudes
But man that movie made me fall in love him so much more and suddenly so much of his music & playing made real sense to me, all the talk of Chi & heartbeats & cosmic radiation & nervous system electricity, going back I can hear all of that so clearly in the music.
The scene with him & Min Tanaka playing for the autistic children is maybe the most powerful example of music as an artform I've ever seen
Anyway, a beautiful soul and player and thinker and man, RIP
― chr1sb3singer, Monday, 15 February 2021 17:23 (three years ago) link
Director Alan Roth has made his documentary The Breath Courses Through Us, about the New York Art Quartet, available on Vimeo for a short while. It documents their 2000s reunion, when they opened for Sonic Youth:
https://vimeo.com/59617230
― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 25 February 2021 00:32 (three years ago) link
Yeah, Left, that's a perfect example of shifting blame and responsibility from the offenders to the victims. Pretty reprehensible.
― Mosholu Porkway (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 25 February 2021 00:46 (three years ago) link
Lol how did that get there.
― Mosholu Porkway (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 25 February 2021 01:03 (three years ago) link
My memories of the ‘99 NYAQ show are of Milford being extremely poorly miked (at least, the PA mix in the hall — the mix in the film sounds much better), and of Reggie Workman killing it. It was the only time I’d seen Workman, and I was floored.I also remember their reunion record being meandering and generally awful, but I haven’t listened to it in years.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 25 February 2021 02:09 (three years ago) link
and of Reggie Workman killing it. It was the only time I’d seen Workman, and I was floored.
― Mosholu Porkway (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 25 February 2021 02:16 (three years ago) link
I saw Workman with John Zorn, Derek Bailey and Susie Ibarra at Tonic one night. I was extremely surprised, because I had always thought of him as a total jazz guy (even if he worked in free-ish contexts at times) but this was obviously Improv with a capital I.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 25 February 2021 02:18 (three years ago) link
Beautiful piece by percussionist-composer Ben Hall: https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/essays/the-patterns-are-already-there-remembering-milford-graves(Slight correction: the Black Music Division at Bennington was dissembled/absorbed into the Music Division in 1985, not in the mid-‘90s.)
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 4 March 2021 13:06 (three years ago) link
Jason Moran@morethan886:30 PM · Apr 1, 2021Graves/Moran live at @BigEarsFestival 2018 releases at midnight. Features another performance from @ICAPhiladelphia / @ArsNovaWorkshop . Mind-Body.https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ex7OGgJW8AISGn5?format=jpg&name=4096x4096
― dow, Friday, 2 April 2021 04:46 (three years ago) link
https://jasonmoran.bandcamp.com/album/graves-moran-live-at-big-ears
― dow, Friday, 2 April 2021 04:48 (three years ago) link
The new Brotzman/Graves/Parker lp is predictably very good, the stuff with Graves talking to the crowd and singing on the fourth side is just fantastic
https://milfordgraves-blackeditionsarchive.bandcamp.com/album/historic-music-past-tense-future
― chr1sb3singer, Wednesday, 9 February 2022 16:08 (two years ago) link
rewatched full mantis last night, still such a pleasure
― ꙮ (map), Sunday, 6 November 2022 20:30 (one year ago) link
"A mind-body deal" can be purchased directly from the inventory press website. free shipping in the US + a holiday code i found on their instagram meant it was only $36
― budo jeru, Friday, 23 December 2022 19:44 (one year ago) link
Thanks! the xpost New York Art Quartet album is all here:https://newyorkartquartet.bandcamp.com/
Bandcamp also has MG's own sole ESP-Disk, Percussion Ensemble, with Sonny Morgan:https://milfordgraves.bandcamp.com/album/percussion-ensemble
― dow, Friday, 23 December 2022 20:58 (one year ago) link