Late Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 Just landed a copy of 'Coon Bid'ness on disc this afternoon (-- didn't know it was originally produced by Michael Cuscuna!). I've had this dubbed on cassette for some time, but never come across the cd. Before I spin it, I thought I'd start a Hemphill thread. He seems one of the more important figures of creative improvised music since the early 70's, and also seems to be under-remarked. What do you think of Hemphill's playing? Which albums are favorites? I actually don't have all that many Hemphill albums, but my favorite of them is certainly Blue Boyé, a two-disc set that I wouldn't hesitate to pin with a "crown." Now it's time to go listen for a while ... Quote
JSngry Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 Love Hemphill. All of his Black Saint albums are essential, simple as that. Supper's on, gotta run, but check out RAW MATERIALS AND RESIDUALS. Quote
John L Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 I love Julius Hemphill. "The Hard Blues" from Coon Bid'ness is a tremendous piece of work! Dogon A.D. is another great record. I agree with you about Blue Boye. Not long ago, Sackville released Roi Boye and the Gotham Ministerels, which also has some sublime moments. Two other favorites are "Live in New York" on Red records, which features duets with Abdul Wadud, and "Fat Man and the Hard Blues" on Black Saint. Then there are the World Saxophone Quartet discs with Julius at the helm. I really wish Julius was still around. Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 I met Julius a few times and want to convey what a bright, warm guy he was. The first time was at Lester Bowie's home around 1967/8. He (and Oliver Lake, I think) was staying there and I arrived just after a long basement session with Lester, Malachi and Roscoe. We talked, had a couple of beers and returned to the basement for more music. I wish I had been there earlier to hear all the music. Julius made one appearance at an early AACM concert I remember. He fit in perfectly with the others on the stage at the Abraham Lincoln Center. The last time I saw him was in Chicago with the WSQ. The show was fine and Julius was Julius but the WSQ seemed like a waste of his talent. I'm sure he cashed some well deserved checks from this group but .......... I wanted more. Quote
Larry Kart Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 I recall, probably in the '67-'68 range, a visit that Hemphill and other B.A.G. members from St. Louis (including Oliver Lake) paid to Chicago, performing at the Abraham Lincoln Center (I think). Very exciting in itself and also as confirmation of a kinship with A.A.C.M. ways of seeing and doing things. Quote
brownie Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 'Dogon A.D.' is an early Hemphill favorite. Fail to understand why it was not reissued on CD. Quote
king ubu Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 I got 'Coon Bid'Ness rather recently too! What a beautiful album! Later I also got "Flat Out Jump Suite", and that's one of the best recordings I picked up during the last months! How about his connection to Tim Berne - or rather: Berne's relation to Hemphill? I got into their music about the same time. ubu Quote
JSngry Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 Berne was Hemphill's student, as I understand it, and a very devoted one. Quote
king ubu Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 Berne was Hemphill's student, as I understand it, and a very devoted one. I was not absolutely sure about this, Jim, but it certainly makes sense hearing their music! Thanks! ubu Quote
jlhoots Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 Marty Ehrlich is much influenced by Hemphill also. Quote
DTMX Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 Julius Hemphill was one of those musicians that I didn't 'get' at first - then couldn't get enough of. I was much too late to the scene to see him perform but I was blown away when I was watching the "Woodstock Jazz Festival (1981)" DVD and saw JH playing tenor in Baikida Carroll's band (on the song "Left Jab"). Man, the things I missed... I've done 4 Amazon.com Listmania lists for Sam Rivers, James Spaulding, and Julius Hemphill (and one smartass list for Stockhausen). JH was the first list I did - when I thought of the phrase "The Essential Julius Hemphill" I knew I had to submit it. But I need to go back and revise the list - there's only 10 items on it and so many more great recordings to add. List of Listmania Lists Quote
DTMX Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 Berne was Hemphill's student, as I understand it, and a very devoted one. One recording that I passed on buying, then paid a very high price on eBay for was Berne's Diminutive Mysteries (Mostly Hemphill) which was a collection of unrecorded Hemphill songs arranged by Berne and played by Berne with Joey Baron, Hank Roberts, Marc Ducret, Mark Dresser, and the easy listening sounds of David Sanborn . Actually, Sanborn is hardcore on this one and does a great job of interpreting Hemphill's music. Hemphill does not play on this recording but the songs are unmistakably his. The last song, "Mystery To Me" is one of the most beautiful and soulful songs I've ever encountered - given Hemphill's health at the time of recording it sounds particularly heartbreaking. Review of Diminutive Mysteries Quote
JSngry Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 (edited) Marty Ehrlich is much influenced by Hemphill also. As Berne did, so did Ehrlich: It's the "Julius Hemphill Sextet", but Julius was already dead. More additions to the Hemphill canon. Ehrlich takes credit for being "music director", but only in fine print. Beautiful music. Edited February 10, 2004 by JSngry Quote
Simon Weil Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 'Dogon A.D.' is an early Hemphill favorite. Fail to understand why it was not reissued on CD. I think Tim Berne tried for a long time to put this out on Screwgun (his record label). He did put out Hemphill's Blue Boye. But, in the end, whoever owns the masters turned him down. He was really torn up about it apparently, because, indeed Hemphill was absolutely central to him coming into the music. I think (from memory) Berne went to Anthony Braxton for a lesson - who put him onto Hemphill. And then Hemphill was basically Berne's "master" while he was growing up Jazzwise. Berne says a lot of it wasn't the music, the lessons were sort of about everything. I think he found Hemphill an inspiring figure in all sorts of ways. Hemphill has this elegant blues vibe and an avant-garde sensibility to go with it. In a way, I see him the tradition of "lighter" blues players like Johnny Hodges than the more full-throated roar of r+b derived guys. He seemed like a true intellectual. Like the path not taken, in that respect, in Jazz. Simon Weil Quote
John B Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 Having never heard any of Hemphill's discs it looks like the 2cd Blue Boye set reissued on crewgum might be a good place to start. I'll likely also pick up a used copy of Coon Bidness and keep my fingers crossed that Dogon A.D. will make it to disc one of these days. Either that or find a cheap vinyl copy to tide me over. Quote
JSngry Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 This one slipped under my radar until I happened across it at cybermusicsurplus.com. Not released until 1998, apparently, and a pretty audacious piece of music, I think. Quote
relyles Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 (edited) My initial exposure to Hemphill was through the World Saxophone Quartet. I love the WSQ with Hemphill and would be curious to hear why Chuck thinks Hemphill's talents were wasted there? He definately was the most developed writer in the group and it has never been the same since he departed. Does anyone know why he split? Other than the WSQ I have one of the Sextett recordings, Dogon A.D., Coon 'Bidness and a couple of unofficial live broadcasts. All of it, thoroughly engrossing music. Edited February 10, 2004 by relyles Quote
minew Posted February 10, 2004 Report Posted February 10, 2004 My initial exposure to Hemphill was through the World Saxophone Quartet. I love the WSQ with Hemphill and would be curious to hear why someone things Hemphill's talents were wasted there? I could never speak for Chuck, but I often find WSQ to be too constrained an environment for the musicians involved. Don't get me wrong, I like WSQ. But I prefer to hear any of those guys, especially Hemphill and Bluiett, in freer settings. Quote
JohnS Posted February 11, 2004 Report Posted February 11, 2004 "Geogia Blue" by the JAH Band on Minor Music comes to mind as memorable album. One to dust off and play. Quote
DTMX Posted February 11, 2004 Report Posted February 11, 2004 "Geogia Blue" by the JAH Band on Minor Music comes to mind as memorable album. One to dust off and play. Another expensive eBay purchase - worth it despite this review. JH sounds great, and "The Hard Blues" works well in this stripped-down quartet version. Quote
7/4 Posted October 5, 2009 Report Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) Julius Hemphill - One Atmosphere I'm glad I took a chance on this disc, I got it used a few days ago. Really beautiful chamber music recorded by other people after he passed away. mo': NYT obit. A Musician With a Language All His Own Edited October 5, 2009 by 7/4 Quote
ep1str0phy Posted October 5, 2009 Report Posted October 5, 2009 Julius Hemphill - One Atmosphere I'm glad I took a chance on this disc, I got it used a few days ago. Really beautiful chamber music recorded by other people after he passed away. mo': NYT obit. A Musician With a Language All His Own I think that that Tzadik disc is fantastic--actually one of the strongest offerings by several of the performers involved (particularly the Dogon/Raw Materials-ish trio with Ehrlich). The compositions are uniformly strong and played with gusto... I may actually prefer this to some of the Hephill sax group sets that don't have Hemphill playing on them. It's weird to think of it now, but it's (gradually) becoming more apparent that Dogon A.D. may represent Hemphill's "greatest" recorded legacy--not necessarily best, though it's clearly one of the best, but without a doubt the one that seems to have the widest influence among younger musicians today. Virtually everyone in my extended musicians network knows this recording--and many came into it independently. I'm wondering if Berne's subversive online "deployment" of the album added anything to its status (this actually predated the "sharity" blog explosion, IIRC). 1234-1234-123... 1234-1234-123... (it also sticks in the brains) Quote
J.A.W. Posted November 25, 2011 Report Posted November 25, 2011 (edited) Reviving this old thread for (hopefully) some more discussion on Hemphill's albums. The only one I have is the recently released (on CD) Dogon A.D. and like it very much. Another one I'm thinking of getting is Flat-Out Jump Suite on Black Saint; I've never heard it and read a couple of conflicting reviews, one pretty bad and one very positive, calling it "a masterpiece" (not my words). Any opinions on that one? Edited November 25, 2011 by J.A.W. Quote
JSngry Posted November 25, 2011 Report Posted November 25, 2011 Another one I'm thinking of getting is Flat-Out Jump Suite on Black Saint; I've never heard it and read a couple of conflicting reviews, one pretty bad and one superb, "a masterpiece" (not my words). Any opinions on that one? I'm very fond of it myself. Raw Materials and Residuals as well, from about the same time. Then again, I like all things Hemphill. Quote
Steve Reynolds Posted November 25, 2011 Report Posted November 25, 2011 Flat-Out Jump Suite and Raw Materials and Residuals are my favorite Hemphill recordings Quote
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