David Friend, Emily Manzo, Arooj Aftab

Conceived by Jace Clayton, a.k.a. DJ /rupture, The Julius Eastman Memorial Dinner project brings fresh insight to the artistic legacy of Julius Eastman – the mercurial gay African American composer, pianist and vocalist who mixed canny minimalist innovation with head-on political provocation. Newly arranged for twin pianos, live electronics and voice, Clayton’s exhilarating sonic exploration is built around two of Eastman’s most important piano compositions: Evil Nigger (1979) and Gay Guerrilla (1980).

In this special date at LSO St Luke’s as part of the Barbican’s contemporary music programme, Clayton live-processes the pianos of David Friend and Emily Manzo, using his own custom-built software. The performance will be interspersed with original material and short theatrical vignettes, performed by neo-Sufi vocalist Arooj Aftab, lending context and nuance to Eastman's saga, cut short with his untimely death in 1990 at the age of 49.

Julius Eastman was a companion of Morton Feldman and John Cage in 1960s New York but died in poverty and alone. Recently he has been rediscovered as a central figure of the avant-garde scene.