CoPAC and the Shaking Ray Levi Society will present the Milford Graves Full Mantis documentary screening on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 7:30 p.m. at Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave. Tickets are $10 at the door and in advance and available here.
Review for Milford Graves Full Mantis:
Milford Graves Full Mantis is the first ever feature-length portrait of renowned percussionist Milford Graves, exploring his kaleidoscopic creativity and relentless curiosity. After a sold-out screening at the Lincoln Center earlier this year, Chattanooga will have a rare opportunity to experience this acclaimed and fascinating documentary on a big screen.
Graves has performed internationally since 1964, both as a soloist and in ensembles with such legends as Albert Ayler, Giuseppi Logan and Sonny Sharrock. He is a founding pioneer of avant-garde jazz, and he remains one of the most influential living figures in the evolution of the form.
The film draws the viewer through the artist’s lush garden and ornate home, into the martial arts dojo in his backyard and the laboratory in his basement - all of this just blocks from where he grew up in the housing projects of South Jamaica, Queens.
Graves tells stories of discovery, struggle and survival, ruminates on the essence of 'swing,' activates electronic stethoscopes in his basement lab to process the sound of his heart, and travels to Japan where he performs at a school for children with autism, igniting the student body into an ecstatic display of spontaneous collective energy.
Oscillating from present to past and weaving intimate glimpses of the artist’s complex cosmology with blistering performances from around the globe, Milford Graves Full Mantis is cinema full of fluidity, polyrhythm and intensity, embodying the essence of Graves’ music itself.
Fore more information visit the Facebook page or the Milford Graves Full Mantis website.