Composition recorded on the Lester Bowie album Fast Last! (1974), with trumpet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, trombone, tuba, piano, bass, and drums. No known score or parts.
Found on: Fast Last!
From Marty Ehrlich: Tim Berne recently told me that he remembers Hemphill describing Banana Whistle as one of his earliest compositions; perhaps he wrote it in the army. J.D. Parran told me about a piece from the B.A.G. or St. Louis period, which Hemphill called “Banana Britches.” Bob Stewart confirmed that Bowie brought him in after the recording session to overdub his tuba part; he told me he remembers having been given verbal directions, and perhaps some graphic notations, rather than a written part.
This is the only studio recording Hemphill and Bowie made together, and it is striking in its ideas, its emotional resonance, and the compositional logic that unifies its diverse parts. To me, the opening, high energy collective improvisation, so voice-like and inflected, represents something unique about the Midwest/Southern players. The piece then connects a number of compositional ideas in a logical and powerful way, moving to longer, measured phrases, breaking the time down to half time and a backbeat, and layering one of Hemphill’s catchy melodies with the opening sound collage.