It's hard to categorize Milford Graves. In addition to being recognized as a great drummer of the 1960s avant-garde jazz movement, he is also well-known in New York City as a herbalist and acupuncturist. He is also credited with creating the martial art discipline yara. Graves also pursues human biology with deep enthusiasm and incorporates that information into all of his work.

The beginning of Milford Graves' musical career was improvisation. Around 1961, he co-led the funky Latin jazz group McKinley-Graves Band, which marked the start of his professional career. The year after that, he led the Milford Graves Latino Quintet, which also included the musicians Chick Corea on piano, Lyle Atkinson on bass, Bill Fitch on congas, and Pete Yellen on saxophone. His career took off and he joined the New York Art Quartet, which allowed him to collaborate with pianist Don Pullen on two independently produced CDs. By his mid-20s, musicians like Philly Jo Jones, Elvin Jones, and Max Roach had come to identify Graves as a drummer with a fresh take on the instrument and a distinctive voice in the music world. Musicians still talk about his 1967 stint at Slugs alongside Albert Ayler and their performance at John Coltrane's burial. Graves continued to teach for an additional 39 years at Bennington College, where he is now honored as a professor emeritus.

11th January 2018, 10:00 a.m.

Conversation between Milford Graves and Aakash Mittal

About arts

Mittal, Aakash: There are some clips of you doing yara in the trailer for the upcoming documentary on your art, which I believe is called Milford Graves Full Mantis. One could have even been in the yard over here, in my opinion.

Mr. Milford Graves: Yes, before it was modified, one was in the yard and the other was in the rear.

About learning Chinese

AM: Wow, that's awesome. It reminded me of when we last spoke, when you discussed the yawning response, the calm state, and the parasympathetic nervous system—how you need to have that relaxed yawn sensation and the associated sound, and you include that thought into your sound. I got the impression that you were moving similarly when I saw the video footage.

MG: Well, the physiological process had a role in it. That was 1977, though, and I was simply content to be in Japan and surrounded by the people and environment I was at the time. When folks from the Far East would arrive, followed by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean martial artists, it was such an amazing atmosphere. Here I am performing a small demonstration in the Far East. I learned Chinese with the aid of Chinese teachers online in order to obtain a sense of Far Eastern culture. I have to relax a lot. People moved in a much more rigid and linear manner. Although aikido was being practiced, Shintaido was much more laid back, so I advised folks to relax. I just lacked the stress component. It reminded me of being in New York. You notice the looks on the faces of the other martial artists observing you as they ask, "What is that stuff? That is not custom. When I turned to gaze outside, all I noticed were a few people who appeared to be observing me with serious faces and a few grins. My physiological system was designed to just relax.

AM: You've already discussed how music simply modifies air pressure, which has an impact on the tympanic membrane. I'm eager to know if you think of acoustically massaging in the same way that you think of physically massaging, or if you even consider how the sound may massage the mind or, via the energy, perhaps even the body.

GM: Okay, let's take a step back and use games and martial arts to address that subject. The Japanese said two things to me. A photographer was one of them. He was a fantastic photographer, in my opinion, and everyone else agreed. He used to accompany me all throughout Japan. Although he had seen me for the first time in 1977, this was about 1981. He approached me as I was returning to perform this solo and exclaimed, "Wow. You were pretty excellent before, but you're much better today. "I hope so," I said. After four years, I hope to be improving. "You're so fluid—relaxed and so fluid," he said after that.

One of the most renowned Japanese internal martial artists and official representative of internal martial arts, or Chinese martial arts, was the second person to say that to me. He attended the play in 1981, the same play. He observed my movement and assumed it came from martial arts.