Milford Graves banged the drums hard in South Jamaica

Marvin Mellgenon Graves was born poor in Gloucester County, Va., on June 4, 1911. He heard he could get work as a porter in New York. He met 20-year-old Gonive Williams and they got married in Queens in March 1940. They made their home at 108-54 159th St. in South Jamaica, Apt. 1C. [caption id="attachment_628778" align="alignleft" width="259"] Jazz percussionist and polymath Milford Graves. Photo by Andy Newcombe via Wikipedia[/caption] The couple had only one child, Milford, born on Aug. 20, 1941. Dad Marvin landed a good job as the personal chauffeur and aide to Dr. Arnold Nathan of Kew Gardens. Milford was a prodigy, playing drums at age 3. He added congas to his skill set by age 8 while also studying timbales and African drumming. In his early 20s, he was leading Latin/Afro Cuban ensembles alongside greats such as Cal Tjader and Herbie Mann.

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