Julius Eastman

Julius Eastman studied composition and piano at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, graduating in 1963. After being noticed by Lukas Foss, he was invited to join Creative Associates, a new-music ensemble funded by the Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo. There, he worked alongside Petr Kotik, Gwendolin Sims, James Fulkerson, Jan Williams, and Morton Feldman. During this period, he wrote the music, libretto, and choreography for the ballet The Moon’s Silent Modulation, an egalitarian manifesto depicting the egotistical confrontation of celestial bodies. In this piece, Eastman grants no preeminence to any one particular performer, in line with its message: “There are no superior persons or beings.”¹

In Buffalo, Eastman was also active as a performer of works by other composers within Creative Associates. These included Five Pianos by Morton Feldman; Coming Together by Frederic Rzewski, based on a letter by a prisoner killed during the 1971 Attica Prison uprising in New York, an event that deeply affected Eastman; Eight Songs for a Mad King by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (playing the role of George III, which brought him major recognition and led to a revival conducted by Pierre Boulez in New York); a dancer-fighter role in Crow by Pauline Oliveros; and Requiem for the Party Girl by R. Murray Schafer, where his performance convinced the composer to allow a male performer to take on the title role.

Eastman’s output during this period was substantial, and his works were performed regularly — often by himself as performer or conductor — notably in the Evenings for New Music concert series. He eventually obtained a position as assistant professor of music theory at the University of Buffalo. In 1973, he received a Grammy nomination for his recording of Eight Songs for a Mad King, released on the Nonesuch label.

In 1976, he moved to New York City and became deeply involved in its musical life. Upon his arrival, Foss, then music director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, appointed him co-curator of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Community Concert Series, a program promoting the work of “composers of non-European descent.” He held this position alongside Tania León and Talib Hakim. He also directed the “Meet the Moderns” concert series.

In New York, he performed with Arthur Russell, Meredith Monk, and Peter Zummo, in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall and the Brooklyn Academy of Music to downtown lofts and disco clubs. His music evolved continuously, from traditional notation to graphic scores, from his own variant of “organic” minimalism, to free jazz, while also incorporating new wave, disco, and improvisation. Eastman strongly asserted both a musical and personal identity. As a Black and openly gay composer working against the backdrop of the Black Panther movement and the Stonewall riots, and within a milieu that was not especially inclined toward overt political expression, his works and actions became increasingly confrontational. His highly provocative interpretation of Song Books by John Cage, for example, greatly angered the composer. The titles of his works, Crazy Nigger (1978), Gay Guerrilla, and Evil Nigger (1979) reflect his militant stance, reclaiming derogatory terms in a defiant and confrontational manner. Stay On It (1973) is a main example of his post-minimalist style.

During his years in New York, he was associated with the musicians of The Kitchen, under the direction of George Lewis, and toured Europe with them in 1980. However, his increasingly erratic behavior and struggles with addiction gradually strained many of his relationships. He was eventually evicted from his apartment for unpaid rent and became homeless. Returning to Buffalo, Eastman died of cardiac arrest at the age of 49 in 1990.

^{1. Quoted in Renée LEVINE PACKER and Mary Jane LEACH (eds.), Gay Guerrilla. Julius Eastman and His Music, New York, University of Rochester Press, 2015, p. 25.↩}