Milford Graves (b. Queens, New York August 20, 1941) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist, most noteworthy for his early avant-garde contributions in the early 1960s with Paul Bley and the New York Art Quartet. He is considered to be a free jazz pioneer, liberating the percussion from its timekeeping role.
Graves has worked as a sideman and session musician with a variety of established jazz musicians throughout his career, including Don Pullen, Eddie Gomez, Andrew Cyrille, Rashied Ali, Kenny Clarke, Don Moye, Philly Joe Jones, John Zorn and Albert Ayler. He has invested his time in research within the field of healing through music. Graves accepted a job in 1973 as an instructor at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont.
Famous quotes containing the word graves:
“After, when they disentwine
You from me and yours from mine,
Neither can be certain who
Was that I whose mine was you.
To the act again they go
More completely not to know.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)