like his work on '1 thing'
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Saturday, 23 July 2005 09:15 (eighteen years ago) link
New York Art Quartet limited-edition 5-LP set of unreleased recordings: http://www.triplepointrecords.com
(a little pricey, though...)
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Friday, 28 December 2012 14:28 (eleven years ago) link
ooo
― i guess i'd just rather listen to canned heat? (ian), Friday, 28 December 2012 18:51 (eleven years ago) link
jeeze that is expensive!!
― i guess i'd just rather listen to canned heat? (ian), Friday, 28 December 2012 18:53 (eleven years ago) link
first 100 copies include a card personally signed by the artists
Wonder if they were able to get Tchicai's signature.
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Friday, 28 December 2012 19:46 (eleven years ago) link
New York Art Quartet box nominated for a Grammy (Best Historical Album).
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 12 December 2013 15:53 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwkHCLI1j1w
― sʌxihɔːl (Ward Fowler), Tuesday, 5 August 2014 20:05 (nine years ago) link
Doc/interview somewhere, turns out he is quite big on martial arts.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 5 August 2014 21:33 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, he's been doing/teaching martial arts (of various forms, I think; kundalini yoga is one I know he teaches) for decades. He's also an acupuncturist and herbal medic.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 6 August 2014 00:45 (nine years ago) link
sat on the floor about 3 feet away from graves' kit last night at the stone. watching this dude work up close is totally bonkers. duo with laswell (with zorn for a couple minutes) but graves was definitely in charge and sounded amazing.
― adam, Friday, 26 June 2015 15:12 (eight years ago) link
nice!
a friend of mine did a good interview with him recently:http://www.thetrapset.net/milford-graves-albert-ayler-ny-art-quartet-pharaoh-sanders-anthony-braxton/
― lil urbane (Jordan), Friday, 26 June 2015 15:15 (eight years ago) link
Always great to hear Milford speak.
This is a pretty wide-ranging interview as well:http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/06/milford-graves-interview
Did you have much familiarity with Lou’s work before that?No, man. They told me he was with the old Velvets. I said, “Well, who’s the Velvets?” Totally out of it, man. And we’re in that similar age group, but I didn’t know about that. I listened to doo-wop, but that was a group I missed.
No, man. They told me he was with the old Velvets. I said, “Well, who’s the Velvets?” Totally out of it, man. And we’re in that similar age group, but I didn’t know about that. I listened to doo-wop, but that was a group I missed.
Missing from both interviews is the fact that Milford was hired in 1973 by Bill Dixon for the Black Music Division at Bennington College.
(actually, teaching is missing entirely from the Trapset episode, though I guess 30 minutes isn't enough to cover everything)
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 26 June 2015 15:27 (eight years ago) link
true. really enjoyed watching this as well:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dpzI8xA9qc
― lil urbane (Jordan), Friday, 26 June 2015 15:31 (eight years ago) link
as long as we are posting interviews i like this one http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/trends/columns/cityside/5380/
― adam, Friday, 26 June 2015 16:06 (eight years ago) link
evidently you can watch this for $4.99 on amazon prime. will probably do that tonight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePiESZA2I7Y
Milford Graves Full Mantis - trailer | IFFR 2018
― budo jeru, Monday, 27 April 2020 20:23 (three years ago) link
Whew, this revive scared me.
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 27 April 2020 20:24 (three years ago) link
haha, yeah, me, too. Seems like we can barely get through a day without another jazz legend dying right now.
― Judi Dench's Human Hand (methanietanner), Monday, 27 April 2020 20:43 (three years ago) link
I want to see the movie, I've heard good things about it. I got to see him in two settings at Big Ears a few years ago — solo and with Jason Moran — and they were two of the best sets of the festival, he's amazing.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 18:23 (three years ago) link
A fucking amazing movie by a friend of mine. Truly a must-see.
I did some of the artwork for this!
― Yanni Xenakis (Hadrian VIII), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 18:25 (three years ago) link
I didn't know Dixon hired him. I interviewed Whit Dickey last year and he talked about studying with both Dixon and Graves at Bennington:
https://www.osirispod.com/podcasts/burning-ambulance/burning-ambulance-whit-dickey/
Also, for those who don't know, Bäbi was reissued on CD in 2018, paired with a previously unheard second disc of 1969 recordings by the same trio:
http://www.corbettvsdempsey.com/2018/10/16/album-babi/
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 18:40 (three years ago) link
An absolutely wonderful movie, one of the greatest music films ever made. Full of incredible archival footage of Milford, plus the great man in his basement laboratory and garden. And the World Of Cheese story is something else...
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 19:14 (three years ago) link
Saw him last year at Vision Festival, playing a duo with Andrew Cyrille. MG looked a little frail, but I understand he's better now. Their performance was gorgeous, a true dialogue between old friends, all deconstructed Latin rhythms and warm anecdotes.
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 19:16 (three years ago) link
It's actually free to watch if you have Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Milford-Graves-Full-Mantis/dp/B07NGRL22J/There are so many great moments, but the footage with Milford and dancer Min Tanaka in a Japanese gymnasium in a school for children with cognitive disabilities is absolutely priceless.I also saw both of his incredible sets at Big Ears. I remember feeling a little bad for Jason Moran...I felt like Milford was in a different, transcendental league!
― ernestp, Wednesday, 29 April 2020 01:08 (three years ago) link
Fantastic film, everyone should watch it.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 29 April 2020 01:41 (three years ago) link
I remember feeling a little bad for Jason Moran...I felt like Milford was in a different, transcendental league!
He was, but generous about it, he brought Moran along with him.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 29 April 2020 04:39 (three years ago) link
I had a great experience at the Big Ears festival this year with [pianist] Jason Moran. People were wondering, “Is that going to work?” I talked to Jason [before the set], and he’s cool. But [during the concert] Jason all of a sudden stands up off the stool, takes his shirt off, and says, “I’m hot, man!” And I looked at him, and Jason got back down and took some sort of rattle or something and started bouncing it all off the strings on that piano, and [now] he wasn’t that cool guy playing Monk for nobody, man! Jason got so emotional. And people noticed that! And I’m saying, “No, he got possessed, man.” All that coolness went out the window. If I have any part of it, he’s not going to be cool on me. You can still look conservative…but you’re gonna get more animated, and then people feel that. When you get animated, people say, “They’re feeling it!”
https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/january-2019-milford-graves/
― budo jeru, Wednesday, 29 April 2020 17:44 (three years ago) link
Really loved Full Mantis. That footage with Min Tanaka and the kids was just the best.
To think he could've spent years in jail..
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 20 June 2020 14:07 (three years ago) link
:-(
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/nyregion/milford-graves-drummer.html
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 12:35 (three years ago) link
“He did pretty much everything on his own, and it’s very important that his work continue, so he wants to leave everything in the right places with the right people,” his wife, Lois, said. “He knows he has more work to do and he’s going to get it done.”
right on. what an absolute gem of a human, a total champ. i wish him the strength to live many, many more years. to continue his research and to grace this world with his unparalleled art
― budo jeru, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 12:53 (three years ago) link
His two duo albums with Don Pullen have been combined into a single CD. My copy hasn't arrived yet, but it's en route.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 5 August 2020 13:18 (three years ago) link
yeahhh, i've ordered that, along with CvD's new Joe McPhee thing.
Amazing article about Graves. Dude is truly an American hero.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 17:16 (three years ago) link
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
― chr1sb3singer, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 17:23 (three years ago) link
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.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 19:10 (three years ago) link
full mantis is such an incredible movie
― Give me a Chad Smith-type feel (map), Wednesday, 5 August 2020 19:36 (three years ago) link
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.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 5 August 2020 19:47 (three years ago) link
sounds like one of the more apt terms tbh !
― budo jeru, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 19:54 (three years ago) link
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.”
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 5 August 2020 21:21 (three years ago) link
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.
― budo jeru, Wednesday, 5 August 2020 21:54 (three years ago) link
Hahaha
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 5 August 2020 22:30 (three years ago) link
My copy of The Complete Yale Concert, 1966 finally arrived today after being shipped from Chicago to New Jersey on August 4.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 24 August 2020 17:57 (three years ago) link
Wow, Full Mantis. What an incredible film.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Saturday, 31 October 2020 04:47 (three years ago) link
'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
― Milton Parker, Wednesday, 9 December 2020 03:34 (three years ago) link
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
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 9 December 2020 04:01 (three years ago) link
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.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 9 December 2020 13:05 (three years ago) link
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
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 (two years ago) link
https://jasonmoran.bandcamp.com/album/graves-moran-live-at-big-ears
― dow, Friday, 2 April 2021 04:48 (two 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
re: full mantis:
This video is currently unavailable to watch in your location
i wish I would've bought / downloaded / ripped this when i had the chance. anybody know how i can see it?
― budo jeru, Saturday, 14 January 2023 06:47 (one year ago) link
nvm, i figured it out.
by the way, the "mind-body deal" book is fantastic!
― budo jeru, Saturday, 14 January 2023 07:03 (one year ago) link
Also: https://jasonmoran.bandcamp.com/album/graves-moran-live-at-big-ears
― dow, Saturday, 14 January 2023 18:23 (one year ago) link
new '76 recording from the Glover/Doyle trio:
https://www.strandedrecords.com/collections/newsletter/products/milford-graves-arthur-doyle-hugh-glover-children-of-the-forest-2xlp?mc_cid=de146c7992&mc_eid=ad2240ad80
― budo jeru, Monday, 27 March 2023 22:39 (one year ago) link
Been trying to convince myself I don't need this. I need this, don't I?
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 28 March 2023 00:24 (one year ago) link
It’s pretty great…
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 28 March 2023 00:42 (one year ago) link
Prolly shoulda put this here.
LA Institute for Contemporary Art is hosting a Milford Graves listening party for a new album, and a screening of the film about him the next day at their Arts District location. RSVP required, and I don't know if any are left.
https://www.theicala.org/en/events/494-milford-graves-album-release-listening-party
― nickn, Sunday, 16 April 2023 06:11 (eleven months ago) link
This is the Children of the Forest release noted above.
― nickn, Sunday, 16 April 2023 06:12 (eleven months ago) link
And the film is Full Mantis
― nickn, Sunday, 16 April 2023 06:14 (eleven months ago) link
Interesting that the Corbett vs Dempsey reissue of the Complete Yale Concert from a couple years back made a point to note that the original master tapes were lost so they sourced from a mint condition original LP, yet the new Superior Viaduct reissue claims that it's sourced from the original master tapes.
― Slim is an Alien, Wednesday, 20 December 2023 00:11 (three months ago) link
Yeah, I think they might be bullshitting and hoping no one notices.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 03:58 (three months ago) link
Unless...I mean, there's a chance that Graves himself didn't know where the tapes were, but that someone in his family found them after he died...but I think it would have been bigger news.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 04:12 (three months ago) link
I have sent the following email to Superior Viaduct:
Hi!Your website says that your Milford Graves reissues are "sourced from the original master tapes." The Corbett vs Dempsey CD reissue of the same recordings, from 2020, says, "The master tapes for both volumes of the Yale concert were lost. This reissue was culled from mint copies of the LPs, transferred and noise-reduced by Alex Inglizian."Were the tapes found by another member of Graves' family after his death? What's the story here?Thanks
Your website says that your Milford Graves reissues are "sourced from the original master tapes." The Corbett vs Dempsey CD reissue of the same recordings, from 2020, says, "The master tapes for both volumes of the Yale concert were lost. This reissue was culled from mint copies of the LPs, transferred and noise-reduced by Alex Inglizian."
Were the tapes found by another member of Graves' family after his death? What's the story here?
Thanks
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 04:16 (three months ago) link
I guess it would answer my question about whether I should upgrade my CvsDs
― The SoyBoy West Coast (Whiney G. Weingarten), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 05:03 (three months ago) link
There's no way the tapes were miraculously discovered and they just failed to mention it in the copy. They are surely bullshitting just like every other record label does.
― budo jeru, Wednesday, 20 December 2023 15:14 (three months ago) link
Also CvD are (imo) a trustworthy entity and I agree — if the tapes were suddenly found, that would be news and therefore worth mentioning
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 15:17 (three months ago) link
It's funny to me that record labels bullshit about stuff like that for artists that probably don't sell a ton - pretty low value false advertising.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 15:32 (three months ago) link
I was under the impression these were just vinyl pressings of the CvsDs CDs, the SV website even mentions Corbett's liners, so it is weird phrasing at best. I'm betting they are using the word "sourced" in a very...er flexible manner.
― chr1sb3singer, Wednesday, 20 December 2023 17:26 (three months ago) link
"Once upon a time, there were master tapes for this album."
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 17:32 (three months ago) link
I got an answer from Superior Viaduct! The label owner says:
The tapes were found prior to Milford’s passing.
So if you were hesitant about buying, go for it, I guess.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Friday, 29 December 2023 22:04 (two months ago) link