Milford Graves Percussion Ensemble

With his 1965 debut LP—five tracks of percussion duets with Sunny Morgan, all titled “Nothing” with various numbers appended—percussionist and avant-garde beat scientist Milford Graves signalled to the world that there would never be another like him. In contrast to the titles, these are highly active, stream-of-consciousness inventions grounded in the hollow thwack of the drum, the contact of hands, sticks and mallets on skin, even as the sound is coloured and overlaid with bells, gongs and shakers. The hi-hat cymbal articulations and shadings at the start of the final track are among the most striking textures. This album was one item in a fruitful ESP run for Graves: He also appeared on classics by Lowell Davidson, Paul Bley, Giuseppi Logan and the New York Art Quartet (with Roswell Rudd), and remained a tireless collaborator with everyone from John Zorn and Bill Laswell to Sam Amidon up until his death in early 2021.