Julius-Eastman

Celebrating Black History Month Recommended: Julius Eastman

Conall Gleeson Deputy Head of School of Media recommends a musician who has been an inspiration,  Julius Eastman.

Composer-performer (1940-90)  – he was both comfortable and uncomfortable in the worlds he inhabited:  black, white, gay straight classical music , disco , academic and downtown New York.

His works have provocative titles Gay Guerrilla, Evil Nigger , Crazy Nigger and others .

Sometimes known as the black Philip Glass, his works and performances pushed at the limits of the acceptable in the highly charged arenas of sexual and civil rights.

 

Suffering from mental health throughout his life, he died homeless and alone.

Largely overlooked in his own time, his music has recently found new audiences where the  Black Lives Matters movement meet with contemporary experimental music.

 

Feminine by Julius Eastman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHgDRv6NVCI

 

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