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Jamie Muir

August 24, 2023

This article is about the Scottish percussionist. For the Nova Scotian politician, see Jamie Muir (politician).

Jamie Muir (born 30 November 1942 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish painter and former musician, best known for his work as the percussionist in King Crimson from 1972–1973, appearing prominently on their fifth album Larks' Tongues In Aspic.

Biography

Muir attended the Edinburgh College of Art during the 1960s, and began playing jazz on trombone.[1] He soon lost interest and switched to percussion, stating that he preferred to be "in the wilds of uncertainty."[2] At that time, he listened to American jazz drummers such as Tony Williams, Kenny Clarke, and Milford Graves, and other musicians such as Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler, and the New York Art Quartet.[2] Regarding his musical direction at the time, he stated: "I just had to improvise. The first time it felt really dangerous, like the sort of thing you had to lock the doors and close the curtains on because if anybody saw you, God would strike you down with a thunderbolt. But I took to it like a duck to water."[2]

After moving to London, Muir worked with choreographer Lindsay Kemp,[1] and was active in free improvisation, recording, and performing with Derek Bailey and Evan Parker in The Music Improvisation Company from 1968–1971. During this time, Muir began using various found objects as part of his percussion repertoire. Bailey enjoyed playing with Muir, recalling that he "seemed to be able to provide a different playing experience every time ... He fitted into this idea of having no particular preconceptions ... He was a highly reactive person, one of the things I really liked, there was the impression that he was slightly uncontrollable, on an edge."[3]

After The Music Improvisation Company disbanded, Muir played in the band Boris with Don Weller and Jimmy Roche (both later of jazz-rock band Major Surgery) and put in a stint with Afro-rock band Assagai in which he met Canterbury scene keyboard player Alan Gowen. Muir and Gowen subsequently formed the experimental jazz-rock band Sunship with guitarist Allan Holdsworth and bass player Laurie Baker, although Muir has admitted that they "spent more time laughing than playing music" and suggests that the band played no gigs and got no further than rehearsals.[2]

In the summer of 1972, Muir received a call from Robert Fripp, and was invited to join what was to become a new incarnation of King Crimson,[4] with a lineup that came to be, according to Muir, focused on "group potential and creating monstrous power in music."[2] During his tenure with the band, Muir occasionally played a standard drum kit, but more often he contributed an assortment of unusual sounds from a wide variety of percussion instruments, including chimes, bells, gongs, mbiras, a musical saw, shakers, rattles, found objects, and miscellaneous drums. Muir initially appeared on a single King Crimson album, 1973's Larks' Tongues In Aspic (the title of which was coined by Muir; when asked by Fripp what the music sounded like, Muir responded "why, larks' tongues in aspic ... what else?"[5]), on which he is listed as playing "Percussion and Allsorts."[6] Several live recordings featuring Muir were released later by DGM records; the 15-disc box set released in 2012 for the 40th anniversary of the album includes every recording from that line-up, both live or studio, documenting everything Muir has ever contributed.[7]

According to John Kelman, Muir "brought not just a visual 'X factor' to the group but a musical one as well, his not-to-be understated contributions during his brief tenure with Crimson still felt well after his departure, with the percussionist exerting a lasting influence on (drummer Bill) Bruford".[8] Bruford called Muir "my biggest influence and the guy who turned my head totally around ... God, did he open my eyes. Jamie saw above and beyond chops. He was into the color of the music, the tone, and being intuitive about it."[9] Bruford also wrote that Muir taught him to "try to see life from the far side of the cymbals: drummers can be very myopic. He also pointed out – and I consider this my first and best drum lesson – that I exist to serve the music, the music does not exist to serve me."[10] Regarding his relationship with Robert Fripp, Muir wrote "Fripp was open and believed very much in getting disparate musical elements together ... he seemed to me to be a very good band leader. I think I was a wee bit too much for him, simply because I was so involved in improvisation. He was very much concerned with logic and function, he always worked his solos out before playing them ... For a person like him it was a very admirable creative decision to actually work with somebody like me."[2] Muir also recalled: "I always remember I had an urge to get Robert to let his hair down because he was very controlled in the way he played ... I really tried and tried to provoke him."[4] In summing up his experience with the band, Muir stated "King Crimson was the ideal for me ... I was extremely pleased and I felt completely at home with the Crimson."[4]

In early March 1973, Muir attended Bruford's wedding reception, and had a long conversation with Yes's singer Jon Anderson during which he strongly recommended that Anderson read Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi. Anderson recalled: "He was an unbelievable stage performer ... I wanted to know what made him do that, what had influenced him. He said to me, 'Here, read it,' and it started me off on the path of becoming aware that there was even a path ... Jamie was like a messenger for me and came to me at the perfect time in my life ... he changed my life." Anderson's fascination with the book soon led to the creation of the Yes album Tales From Topographic Oceans.[11]

A little over a week after the release of Larks' Tongues, Muir abruptly left King Crimson and moved to Samye Ling Monastery near Eskdalemuir in southern Scotland in order to pursue a monastic lifestyle in accordance with the strict principles of Buddhism.[8][2] The British Press at the time cited his departure as the result of "personal injury sustained onstage during performance", a phrase attributed to the band's management company, E.G. Records. Muir himself stated "[t]hat was nonsense about my having injured myself ... When I heard about what they'd said, I wondered why would anybody do that – what advantage could there be in not saying what actually happened?"[4] He also stated: "There were experiences over a period of about six months which caused me to decide to give up music, so one morning I felt I had to go to E.G. management and tell them. It was difficult of course, a whole year of tours had just been lined up ... I didn't feel too happy about letting people down, but this was something I had to do or else it would have been a source of deep regret for the rest of my life."[2]

In 1980, Muir returned to the London music scene, recording with Bailey (Dart Drug), Parker (The Ayes Have It), and Company (Trios, Company 1981, and Company 1983). He also appeared on the soundtrack of the film Ghost Dance, a collaboration with another Crimson alumnus, drummer Michael Giles and David Cunningham recorded in 1983, and eventually released in 1996.[12] Muir reported that he withdrew from the music business around 1990, to devote his energies to painting.[2]

Ideas about music

Muir has stated: "I think group improvised music is one of the great forms of 20th Century music because it's so radical. It should be listened to live and not in an acute intellectual way. A lot of other music is quite absurdly intellectual."[2] Regarding his approach to percussion, he said: "I much prefer junk shops to antique shops. There's nothing to find in an antique shop – it's all been found already; whereas in a junk shop it's only been collected. But a rubbish dump – a rubbish dump has been neither found nor collected – in fact it's been completed rejected – the future if only you can see it." He recommended that "[i]nstead of transmuting rubbish into music with a heavily predetermined qualitative bias ... leave behind the biases and structures of selectivity (which is an enormous task), the 'found' attitudes you inherit, and approach the rubbish with a total respect for its nature as rubbish – the undiscovered/unidentified/unclaimed – transmuting that nature into the performing dimension. The way to discover the undiscovered in performing terms is to immediately reject all situations as you identify them (the cloud of unknowing) – which is to give music a future."[13]

Discography

With Derek Bailey, Evan Parker and Hugh Davies

With King Crimson

With Derek Bailey

With Evan Parker and Paul Rogers

With Richard Strange and The Engine Room

  • Going Gone (Percussion, 1984)

With Michael Giles and David Cunningham

  • Ghost Dance (Piano, 1996)

With Company

With Laurie Scott Baker

  • Gracility (Musicnow, 2009)

References

  1. ^ a b "Jamie Muir enters the stroll syndrome". Rubberneck (10/11): 23. 1992. ISSN 0952-6609.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The Talking Drum – A Jamie Muir Interview". Elephant Talk. 1991–92. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  3. ^ Watson, Ben (2004). Derek Bailey and the Story of Free Improvisation. Verso. pp. 652–653.
  4. ^ a b c d Smith, Sid (3 November 2016). "Larks Tongues In Aspic – The Long View". DGMLive.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  5. ^ Weigel, David (2017). The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock. W. W. Norton.
  6. ^ Larks' Tongues in Aspic 30th Anniversary Edition (liner notes). King Crimson. DGM. 2004. CGM0505.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Westergaard, Sean. "King Crimson: Larks' Tongues in Aspic [Limited Edition Box Set]". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b Kelman, John (19 April 2019). "King Crimson: Live in Newcastle, December 8, 1972". AllAboutJazz.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  9. ^ Shore, Michael (February 1979). "Bill Bruford". ModernDrummer.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  10. ^ Bruford, Bill (2013). Bill Bruford: The Autobiography. Yes, King Crimson, Earthworks and More. Foruli Classics. p. 61.
  11. ^ Smith, Sid (2 November 2016). "Yes: The Real Story Behind Tales From Topographic Oceans". LouderSound.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  12. ^ "ghost dance -michael giles, jamie muir, david cunningham". piano records. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  13. ^ Bailey, Derek (1992). Improvisation: Its nature and practice in music. Da Capo Press. pp. 96. ISBN 9780306805288.

August 24, 2023
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This article is about the Scottish percussionist For the Nova Scotian politician see Jamie Muir politician Jamie Muir born 30 November 1942 in Edinburgh is a Scottish painter and former musician best known for his work as the percussionist in King Crimson from 1972 1973 appearing prominently on their fifth album Larks Tongues In Aspic Contents 1 Biography 2 Ideas about music 3 Discography 4 ReferencesBiography EditMuir attended the Edinburgh College of Art during the 1960s and began playing jazz on trombone 1 He soon lost interest and switched to percussion stating that he preferred to be in the wilds of uncertainty 2 At that time he listened to American jazz drummers such as Tony Williams Kenny Clarke and Milford Graves and other musicians such as Pharoah Sanders Albert Ayler and the New York Art Quartet 2 Regarding his musical direction at the time he stated I just had to improvise The first time it felt really dangerous like the sort of thing you had to lock the doors and close the curtains on because if anybody saw you God would strike you down with a thunderbolt But I took to it like a duck to water 2 After moving to London Muir worked with choreographer Lindsay Kemp 1 and was active in free improvisation recording and performing with Derek Bailey and Evan Parker in The Music Improvisation Company from 1968 1971 During this time Muir began using various found objects as part of his percussion repertoire Bailey enjoyed playing with Muir recalling that he seemed to be able to provide a different playing experience every time He fitted into this idea of having no particular preconceptions He was a highly reactive person one of the things I really liked there was the impression that he was slightly uncontrollable on an edge 3 After The Music Improvisation Company disbanded Muir played in the band Boris with Don Weller and Jimmy Roche both later of jazz rock band Major Surgery and put in a stint with Afro rock band Assagai in which he met Canterbury scene keyboard player Alan Gowen Muir and Gowen subsequently formed the experimental jazz rock band Sunship with guitarist Allan Holdsworth and bass player Laurie Baker although Muir has admitted that they spent more time laughing than playing music and suggests that the band played no gigs and got no further than rehearsals 2 In the summer of 1972 Muir received a call from Robert Fripp and was invited to join what was to become a new incarnation of King Crimson 4 with a lineup that came to be according to Muir focused on group potential and creating monstrous power in music 2 During his tenure with the band Muir occasionally played a standard drum kit but more often he contributed an assortment of unusual sounds from a wide variety of percussion instruments including chimes bells gongs mbiras a musical saw shakers rattles found objects and miscellaneous drums Muir initially appeared on a single King Crimson album 1973 s Larks Tongues In Aspic the title of which was coined by Muir when asked by Fripp what the music sounded like Muir responded why larks tongues in aspic what else 5 on which he is listed as playing Percussion and Allsorts 6 Several live recordings featuring Muir were released later by DGM records the 15 disc box set released in 2012 for the 40th anniversary of the album includes every recording from that line up both live or studio documenting everything Muir has ever contributed 7 According to John Kelman Muir brought not just a visual X factor to the group but a musical one as well his not to be understated contributions during his brief tenure with Crimson still felt well after his departure with the percussionist exerting a lasting influence on drummer Bill Bruford 8 Bruford called Muir my biggest influence and the guy who turned my head totally around God did he open my eyes Jamie saw above and beyond chops He was into the color of the music the tone and being intuitive about it 9 Bruford also wrote that Muir taught him to try to see life from the far side of the cymbals drummers can be very myopic He also pointed out and I consider this my first and best drum lesson that I exist to serve the music the music does not exist to serve me 10 Regarding his relationship with Robert Fripp Muir wrote Fripp was open and believed very much in getting disparate musical elements together he seemed to me to be a very good band leader I think I was a wee bit too much for him simply because I was so involved in improvisation He was very much concerned with logic and function he always worked his solos out before playing them For a person like him it was a very admirable creative decision to actually work with somebody like me 2 Muir also recalled I always remember I had an urge to get Robert to let his hair down because he was very controlled in the way he played I really tried and tried to provoke him 4 In summing up his experience with the band Muir stated King Crimson was the ideal for me I was extremely pleased and I felt completely at home with the Crimson 4 In early March 1973 Muir attended Bruford s wedding reception and had a long conversation with Yes s singer Jon Anderson during which he strongly recommended that Anderson read Paramahansa Yogananda s Autobiography of a Yogi Anderson recalled He was an unbelievable stage performer I wanted to know what made him do that what had influenced him He said to me Here read it and it started me off on the path of becoming aware that there was even a path Jamie was like a messenger for me and came to me at the perfect time in my life he changed my life Anderson s fascination with the book soon led to the creation of the Yes album Tales From Topographic Oceans 11 A little over a week after the release of Larks Tongues Muir abruptly left King Crimson and moved to Samye Ling Monastery near Eskdalemuir in southern Scotland in order to pursue a monastic lifestyle in accordance with the strict principles of Buddhism 8 2 The British Press at the time cited his departure as the result of personal injury sustained onstage during performance a phrase attributed to the band s management company E G Records Muir himself stated t hat was nonsense about my having injured myself When I heard about what they d said I wondered why would anybody do that what advantage could there be in not saying what actually happened 4 He also stated There were experiences over a period of about six months which caused me to decide to give up music so one morning I felt I had to go to E G management and tell them It was difficult of course a whole year of tours had just been lined up I didn t feel too happy about letting people down but this was something I had to do or else it would have been a source of deep regret for the rest of my life 2 In 1980 Muir returned to the London music scene recording with Bailey Dart Drug Parker The Ayes Have It and Company Trios Company 1981 and Company 1983 He also appeared on the soundtrack of the film Ghost Dance a collaboration with another Crimson alumnus drummer Michael Giles and David Cunningham recorded in 1983 and eventually released in 1996 12 Muir reported that he withdrew from the music business around 1990 to devote his energies to painting 2 Ideas about music EditMuir has stated I think group improvised music is one of the great forms of 20th Century music because it s so radical It should be listened to live and not in an acute intellectual way A lot of other music is quite absurdly intellectual 2 Regarding his approach to percussion he said I much prefer junk shops to antique shops There s nothing to find in an antique shop it s all been found already whereas in a junk shop it s only been collected But a rubbish dump a rubbish dump has been neither found nor collected in fact it s been completed rejected the future if only you can see it He recommended that i nstead of transmuting rubbish into music with a heavily predetermined qualitative bias leave behind the biases and structures of selectivity which is an enormous task the found attitudes you inherit and approach the rubbish with a total respect for its nature as rubbish the undiscovered unidentified unclaimed transmuting that nature into the performing dimension The way to discover the undiscovered in performing terms is to immediately reject all situations as you identify them the cloud of unknowing which is to give music a future 13 Discography EditWith Derek Bailey Evan Parker and Hugh Davies The Music Improvisation Company ECM 1970 with Christine Jeffrey on two tracks The Music Improvisation Company 1968 1971 Incus 1968 70 1976 With King Crimson Larks Tongues in Aspic Island 1973 Larks Tongues in Aspic box set DGM 2012 With Derek Bailey Dart Drug Incus 1981 reissued on CD in 1994 With Evan Parker and Paul Rogers The Ayes Have It Emanem 1983 2001 With Richard Strange and The Engine Room Going Gone Percussion 1984 With Michael Giles and David Cunningham Ghost Dance Piano 1996 With Company Trios Incus 1986 Company 1981 Honest Jon s 2019 Company 1983 Honest Jon s 2020 With Laurie Scott Baker Gracility Musicnow 2009 References Edit a b Jamie Muir enters the stroll syndrome Rubberneck 10 11 23 1992 ISSN 0952 6609 a b c d e f g h i j The Talking Drum A Jamie Muir Interview Elephant Talk 1991 92 Retrieved 10 June 2008 Watson Ben 2004 Derek Bailey and the Story of Free Improvisation Verso pp 652 653 a b c d Smith Sid 3 November 2016 Larks Tongues In Aspic The Long View DGMLive com Retrieved 3 June 2020 Weigel David 2017 The Show That Never Ends The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock W W Norton Larks Tongues in Aspic 30th Anniversary Edition liner notes King Crimson DGM 2004 CGM0505 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Westergaard Sean King Crimson Larks Tongues in Aspic Limited Edition Box Set AllMusic Retrieved 27 February 2022 a b Kelman John 19 April 2019 King Crimson Live in Newcastle December 8 1972 AllAboutJazz com Retrieved 3 June 2020 Shore Michael February 1979 Bill Bruford ModernDrummer com Retrieved 3 June 2020 Bruford Bill 2013 Bill Bruford The Autobiography Yes King Crimson Earthworks and More Foruli Classics p 61 Smith Sid 2 November 2016 Yes The Real Story Behind Tales From Topographic Oceans LouderSound com Retrieved 3 June 2020 ghost dance michael giles jamie muir david cunningham piano records Retrieved 10 June 2008 Bailey Derek 1992 Improvisation Its nature and practice in music Da Capo Press pp 96 ISBN 9780306805288 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jamie Muir amp oldid 1161951396, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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