Julius Eastman Primer

[jazzy_dave]

Afro-American new music composer, pianist and vocalist. Born October 27, 1940. Died May 28, 1990 in Buffalo. He was a sometime member of the Creative Associates at SUNY Buffalo and the S.E.M. Ensemble. He is less well known thatn other composers so in this regard i want to put him forward as another forgotten artist that needs more exposure now. Sadly neglected at the time and now he is no longer alive to reap the benefits.

Once again it is the wonderful Wire magazine that brought me to this forgoten artist that i have not heard of before.

Julius Eastman - Music For Geologic Moments

Performed by Eastman (piano, voice) and Joyce Solomon (piano). This is a lo-fi recording of a live performance, in which Eastman's music accompanied Molissa Fenley's dance piece 'Geologic Moments'. Dustin Hurt has kindly provided further information about the music performed, erroneously listed in some sources as a version of Eastman's earlier 'Thruway' (1969). "The music here by is actually two compositions - (1) an untitled work (or title currently unknown) composition for two pianos, and (2) "One God" a quasi-improvisatory work for voice and piano."


Julian Eastman - Gay Guerilla )1979)

This is a performance by Time's Arrow at Boston University on May 3, 2013. The iconic performance of Gay Guerrilla is for four pianos, but the score doesn't specify instrumentation.

Julius Eastman - Creation

Eastman's experimentalism shared some tropes with Cage's, particularly the juxtaposition of disparate sonic materials, amplification, electronics, and tape music. 'Creation' (ca. 1973) is exemplary in this regard. Eastman composed it for the S.E.M. Ensemble, and it was played by Kotik, Eastman, and Williams on their European tour in the summer of 1973. The piece is, like 'Tripod' and 'Thruway', bifurcated into a prerecorded sound collage and a live acoustic component. Eastman's tape collage brings together wildly divergent sounds—vocal drones on an open fifth, sounds of screaming, laughing, crying, and electronic feedback. On the recording Eastman, Williams, and Kotik quote popular songs ('Danny Boy' and 'The Girl from Ipanema' stand out). Gay signifiers emerge periodically as well on the tape. Eastman and his fellow performers affect a lisping comic tone of voice while discussing subjects more expected in a John Waters film than in a classical music concert. This tape accompanies live sounds of percussion, flute, and piano that blend repetition, improvisation, and virtuosic displays from the performers. Eastman's inclusion of queerly surreal material is in line with a long tradition of avant-garde shock techniques in which abject subject matter is joined to an equally disruptive musical surface or formal conceit."
Ryan Dohoney, "John Cage, Julius Eastman, and the Homosexual Ego", in: Benjamin Piekut (ed.), "Tomorrow is the Question. New Directions in Experimental Music Studies", Ann Arbor MI 2014, pp. 39-62, here p. 43

"Creation" for flute, piano, percussion, and recorded sounds (1973)

played by Petr Kotík, Julius Eastman & Jan Williams (S.E.M. Ensemble)

photo (by R. Nemo Hill): Julius Eastman with a charming lady named Bill Paradise



Julius Eastman - Unjust Malaise (full alnum)

1. Stay on it (1973) 0:00
2. If you're so smart, why aren't you rich? (1978) 24:29
3. Prelude to The holy presence of Joan d'Arc (1981) 49:07
4. The holy presence of Joan d'Arc (1981) 1:00:53
5. Gay guerrilla (c. 1980) 1:21:31
6. Evil nigger (1979) 1:50:39
7. Crazy nigger (c. 1980) 2:12:09
8. Julius Eastman's spoken introduction to the Northwestern University concert 3:07:28

2006 Rewind: Top 50 Releases of the Year


Burial Burial (Hyperdub)
Scott Walker The Drift (4ad)
Joanna Newsom Ys (Drag City)
Carla Bozulich Evangelista (Constellation)
Wolf Eyes Human Animal (Sub Pop)
Ornette Coleman Sound Grammar (Sound Grammar)
Ekkehard Ehlers A Life Without Fear (Staubgold)
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy The Letting Go (Domino)
Om Conference Of The Birds (Holy Mountain)
Phill Niblock Touch Three (Touch)
Scritti Politti White Bread Black Beer (Rough Trade)
Matmos The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast (Matador)
Sonic Youth Rather Ripped (Geffen)
Wolf Eyes & Anthony Braxton Black Vomit (Victo)
The Knife Silent Shout (Mute/Brille)
Christian Wolff 10 Exercises (New World)
Keiji Haino & Sitaar Tah! Animamima (Archive/Important)
Brightblack Morning Light Brightblack Morning Light (Matador)
Arthur Russell First Thought Best Thought (Audika/Rough Trade)
Broadcast The Future Crayon (Warp)
Niobe White Hats (Tomlab)
Grizzly Bear Yellow House (Warp)
Reanimator Special Powers (Community Library)
Current 93 Black Ships Ate The Sky (Durtro Jnana)
Excepter Alternation (5rc)
Alexander Tucker Furrowed Brow (ATP)
Gruppo Diimprovvisazione Nuova Consonanza Azioni (Die Schachtel)
Rafael Toral Space (Staubgold)
Ghostface Killah Fishscale (Def Jam)
MV/EE & The Bummer Road Mother Of Thousands (Time-Lag)
Wooden Wand & The Vanishing Voice Gipsy Freedom (5rc)
Celtic Frost Monotheist (Century Media)
Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid The Exchange Sessions Vols 1 & 2 (Domino)
Ran Blake All That Is Tied (Tompkins Square)
Mordant Music Dead Air (Mordant Music)
Julius Eastman Unjust Malaise (New World)
Little Annie Songs From The Coalmine Canary (Durtro Jnana)
Ruff Sqwad Guns And Roses Volume 2 (Ruff Sqwad Recordings)
Volcano The Bear Classic Erasmus Fusion (Beta-Lactam Ring)
Leopard Leg The Seven Sistered Sea-Secret Of Shh Shh Shh Upset (The Rhythm)
Harlassen A Way Now (Sustain-Release)
Text Of Light Metal Box (Dirter Promotions)
Peaches Impeach My Bush (XL)
Robert Ashley Foreign Experiences (Lovely Music)
Charalambides A Vintage Burden (Kranky)
Peter Evans More Is More (PSI)
Sunn O))) & Boris Altar (Southern Lord)
Dabrye Two/Three (Ghostly International)
Chris Corsano The Young Cricketer (Hot Cars Warp)
Josephine Foster A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing (Locust)