This composition had a number of alternative titles. As “C,” it was recorded as a trio with cello and percussion for Raw Materials and Residuals (1978); as a duet with cello for Oakland Duets (1993)—both with Abdul Wadud—and in a small group for the Lester Bowie album Fast Last! (1974). As “C/Saw,” it was recorded by big band on the album Julius Hemphill Big Band (1988). It also appears as “C (Those Blues)” in the big-band score in Hemphill’s hand and on archival recordings of live performances. The archive contains the score and parts for the big-band arrangement.
From Marty Ehrlich: This is was Hemphill’s go-to blues, along with “K.C. Line.” Both pieces are up-tempo works evoking the language of Charlie Parker and his peers, the whole lineage up to the bebop era. The piece is at the core of Hemphill’s language on the alto saxophone.
Found on: Raw Materials and Residuals, Julius Hemphill Big Band, Oakland Duets, Fast Last!.