Julius Eastman

The Nigger Series (2LP Special Edition)

Genre: MODERN CLASSICAL / AMBIENT

Colour 2LP

Boomkat Product Review:

Julius Eastman’s breathtakingly powerful ‘Nigger Series’, recorded in 1980, available on vinyl for the first time, correcting an oversight that goes to the root of conversations about race and politics in contemporary music. Compiling ‘Crazy Nigger’, ‘Evil Nigger’ and ‘Gay Guerrilla’ together for the first time, they form a long overdue showcase of Eastman’s genius, an unmissable portal for anyone intrigued by this hugely compelling artist and his music.

Julius Eastman (1940-1990) was a prodigious voice within the influential American avant-classical movement of the 1970s. As a composer, pianist, Grammy-nominated vocalist and dancer, he brought unique qualities to the downtown minimalist movement most commonly associated with Philip Glass and Steve Reich. But where their music has received no shortage of accolades, by the early ‘80s Eastman’s staggering compositional contributions during the same era were practically unknown beyond tapes circulated between his peers. As Bradford Bailey explains “His place within the context of American classical music - an uncompromising artist of inconvenient identity, rising on the tide of an unavoidable talent, was a threat to the institution’s walls. It’s no surprise that his efforts were forced into the shadows…”

Thanks to Mary Jane Leach, however, a wider reappraisal of Eastman’s work began with release of his ‘Nigger Series’ as part of the 3CD ‘Unjust Malaise’ [New World Records, 2005], and the trio of works now appear on vinyl for the first time.

‘Crazy Nigger’ is the first and longest part of the series. Its provocative title was shocking then and is perhaps now more than ever. However, as the composer explains in an introduction given at Northwestern University found on ‘Unjust Malaise’, his use of the term references the fundamental role of “field niggers” in the foundation of the American economy, as “not superficial, but elegant… at the ground of things”. From this perceptive base, Eastman radically adapts the instrumental language of classical music to his own, expressive ends, to challenge the restrictions of romantic classical music with more fluid and organically open-ended musical structures.

Composed in 1978, it offers a muscular parallel to the more mannered minimalism of the era. His keys attack in powerful flurries right from the start, cascading complex harmonies that arguably feel more immediate, gloriously voluminous and, heck, “crazed” than work by almost any of his contemporaries. By the track’s hammering climax and lofted conclusion, first time listeners will be under little illusion as to the thrilling power of Eastman’s playing and vision.

‘Evil Nigger’ follows suit with heart-racing intensity and blistering pace, with its four pianists, including Eastman, urged into spiralling frenzies by Eastman’s cries of “two, three, four”, while the piece escalates from tonal to multi-tonal colour with imperceptibly naturalistic quality, then decays into ether. ‘Gay Guerilla’ follows, relaxing the tension to connote a sense of the sublime, attempting to model in his music an empathy or kinship between downtrodden Gay and Black folk, and the PLO or Afghan army; people who were prepared to shed blood for what they believe in. The piece finds a devastating power in its relative reserve to the other two parts, with a finer, slower narrative quality pivoting around a musical quote from the Martin Luther hymn ‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God’, dramatically, and perhaps subversively, implying a call to arms.

It is a tragic fact that Julius Eastman died aged 49, just over 10 years after these totemic pieces were written and premiered. In the time between, his work was neglected and his genius overlooked to the extent that he fell into substance addiction, eventually losing his accommodation and with it the vast majority of his scores and recordings. It would be at least 15 years before his music became known and available again, with Mary Jane Leach posting his remaining scores to the internet, leading to subsequent performances by ensembles across the world, and important reappraisals of his work by Black Music scholars such Jace Clayton and Kodwo Eshun. After the Frozen reeds label issued his Femenine set for chamber ensemble a couple of years ago, the world and the press at large finally stood to attention, with numerous features in too many publications and radio stations to mention following since.

And as for these titles, perhaps Bradford Bailey puts it best: “You have to wonder, when titling his works - often deploying the vile language of racism and homophobia, if Julius Eastman was consciously forcing white, leftist music fans like myself to choke out words which we actively despise - to recognise polarising truths which are bound to his sounds and the context in which they reside - to see our complicity with unforgivable sin."

Colour 2LP (4)

Re-press - bundle edition of 300 copies, 2 x 180g purple vinyl housed in Nagaoka anti-static sleeve, plus fold out Obi insert with liner notes by Bradford Bailey and Mary Jane Leach. Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi.

Play All Colour 2LP (4)