Re: RIP Harold Budd

The great Harold Budd has died. He's my all-time favorite pianist, and I treasure his collaborations with Brian Eno. What a dreadful year this has been.

Like many I’m sure, it was indeed through his collaborations with Eno that I learned of Harold Budd. Quite a presence on those records. Was unaware of this news until seeing your post— thank you.

...and the ambient music world got a little bit quieter

Budd's music is a regular feature of our household. What an amazing guy. His loss moves us. We saw him at Moogfest in 2012 and in March of 2019 he had a residency at the Big Ears festival with three performances in three days. What a luxury that was. Probably his last performances. Such a lyrically beautiful performer; and how was it that he collaborated with so many of my other favorite artists? [Foxx. Nelson, Eno, Cocteau Twins] I'll never forget when my friend chasinvictoria bought Eno/Budd's "Ambient II: A Plateaux Of Mirror" when it came out in 1980 and we listened to it and immediately broadened our horizons.

Then when I saw covid-19 as the factor in his death my wife got royally pissed off at how elite Republican pond scum flout safety, conspire against the public, and get the latest experimental drugs so they can resume their wrecking ball on society status, and this man who made the world more beautiful for his lifespan had to die like that! I wondered if he had played any other shows after Big Ears in March 2019 and there was a Kitchen concert scheduled in NYC for July of that year on his website, but that had been cancelled. So in an entirely appropriate gesture, his last live performance was a 90 minute version of "For As Long As I Can Hold My Breath" where he left the song in his son Terrence's hands after the first 20 minutes and departed from the stage. You can't get any more metaphorical than that!!

"Perhaps" was one of my favorite Budd albums and we got the CD when it came out 7 years ago. [It was originally a DL only at David Sylvian's webstore] It's an amazing album of an improvisatory concert in memoriam of his friend, composer James Tenet, who died in 2006. Only the pauses have been edited out of the improv, which is astonishing, considering it's over 72 minutes of moving music recorded on December 8th, 2006. Fourteen years to the day that Budd himself, died. Our thoughts go out to his family, especially Terrence who was so considerate to us.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

I've read about Budd in the TP guide for years, but never gave him much thought. My tastes have evolved considerably over the years, though, and just a couple of months ago I started researching him and thinking I should listen to his music. So I'm throwing it out to the Budd fans here: where should I start? The album I put on my Discogs list is The Pearl, because it felt like the presence of Eno and Lanois would be a good bridge. I also added The Pavilion of Dreams the other day, and after reading a nice article on Budd yesterday also added his 2020 album (with Robin Guthrie, with whom he was apparently close) Another Flower. Reading your appreciation, Monk, makes me wonder if Perhaps would be a good starting point. Anyway, weigh in, everybody.

The two Eno collaborations are essential. I constantly listen to Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror and The Pearl. The Pavilion of Dreams, which also features Eno, Gavin Bryars, and Michael Nyman, is a gorgeous record. 1986's Lovely Thunder is also highly recommended, as is his same-year Cocteau Twins collaboration, The Moon and the Melodies.

Started as a jazz drummer and only started playing the piano in his 30s. Ended up being the best at what he did. And he did plenty.