Eastman, Julius

Julius Eastman (October 27, 1940 – May 28, 1990) was an American composer, pianist, vocalist, performance artist, and conductor. He was among the first composers to combine the processes of some minimalist music with other methods of extending and modifying his music as in some experimental music. He thus created what he called "organic music". In compositions like Stay On It (1973), his melodic motifs were not unlike the catchy refrains of then pop music. He studied performance and composition in New York and contributed to new music scenes in New York, Buffalo, and Chicago, touring and recording as a performer and enjoying many performances of his own music. As a conductor, musician, and vocalist, he had a close artistic relationship with Arthur Russell and worked briefly with Meredith Monk and Pierre Boulez. His voice is that of Peter Maxwell Davies' Mad King on Nonesuch Records. He worked in a variety of musical styles, including classical, jazz, and crossover. During the 1970s (and perhaps shortly thereafter), he openly expressed himself in terms of his race, sexual orientation, or both in at least one performance and also in his compositions, including Gay Guerrilla and Nigger Faggot. These gestures were not well received. He began to contend with a lack of professional opportunities, falling into relative obscurity while struggling with substance use and homelessness in the 1980s. After his early, possibly HIV/AIDS-related death in 1990, Kyle Gann remembered him in a much belated 1991 obituary in the Village Voice. In the 21st century, his work rose to international prominence within contemporary classical music. There have been many recent professional editions, performances, and recordings of his music, as well as some extended scholarly treatments of his life and work.