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Composition for saxophone sextet (soprano, 2 tenor, 2 alto, and baritone), written for and frequently played in concert by the Julius Hemphill Saxophone Sextet, and published as a set of parts in the Sextet Collection (Subito Music, 1992). The archive includes a transposed score in holograph, the professionally copied parts, and a set of parts copied in pen (not in Hemphill’s hand).
Found on: Fat Man and the Hard Blues.
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Slow chorale for saxophone quartet (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone), composed for the suite Wind/Rhythms. The archive includes professionally copied parts for “Another Feeling” as well a full score (as part of Wind/Rhythms).
From Marty Ehrlich: I conjecture by the date (1981) and by the inclusion of percussion sections on the score that this piece was written for the World Saxophone Quartet and Max Roach’s M’Boom, as the two ensembles collaborated for a concert at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, on June 26, 1981. (However, to my knowledge the piece was not performed at the concert.)
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Hemphill used the title “Anchorman” for more than one piece over the course of his career. Portions of the different versions may be found in the archival folders for “Anchorman,” “Bordertown,” “Drunk on God,”and “Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin / The Promised Land.”
(1) One piece associated with this title is a slow six-bar blues, with a two-bar introduction, for saxophone sextet (2 soprano, 2 alto, tenor, and baritone). The Julius Hemphill Saxophone Sextet recorded this work as “Anchorman” on Fat Man and the Hard Blues (1991). In its first appearance on a studio recording, Julius Hemphill Big Band (1988), the piece was titled “Radiant Number” and was included in “Drunk on God,” Hemphill’s setting of poems by K. Curtis Lyle. Subsequently, Hemphill incorporated this piece into “Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin / The Promised Land,” his work for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company.
(2) The archive also includes a ten-page, five-line score in holograph, with VOX indicated on the top line, for a different piece titled “Anchorman.” This piece, orchestrated for trumpet, 2 tenor saxophones, and bass clarinet, is a re-orchestration of the composition “Bordertown.” Pages 4 and 5 of this score are in the archival folder for “Drunk on God.”
From Marty Ehrlich: The second piece described above is associated with Anchorman, a theatrical work in two acts by Paul Carter Harrison; a script is included in the Julius Hemphill Papers. According to Harrison (from a phone conversation in 2019), Anchorman was given a first performance with Hemphill’s score in 1982 at Columbia College in Chicago, with members of the AACM performing. In 1988, the American Folk Theatre mounted a performance of the play in New York City, using a portion of Hemphill’s score arranged for solo piano. There is no known recording of the orchestration with trumpet, two tenor saxophones, and bass clarinet.
Found on: Fat Man and the Hard Blues, Julius Hemphill Big Band
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As documented on recordings, this is a work for soprano saxophone, trumpet, bass, and drums; Hemphill added a guitar part when he performed the piece with his JAH band. The archive contains professionally copied soprano saxophone and bass parts; parts in holograph for trumpet and guitar; and a concert score for two voices, in treble and bass clef. The treble melody line is first designated for flute, then suggested for soprano saxophone 8vb. The bass clef part is mostly single notes, though double stops may indicate a cello.
From Marty Ehrlich: This piece has a graceful, almost tongue-in-cheek melody. A full score of the piece could be put together from the parts.
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Sixty-three-measure big-band arrangement (five saxophones, five trumpets, four trombones, and rhythm section) of a composition by Jack DeJohnette that was named for pianist Ahmad Jamal. Archive includes holograph concert score with extensive directions to copyist as well as a holograph score for backgrounds during the solo section from m.63.
From Marty Ehrlich: The process of writing the score in pencil or blue/black pen, then making corrections, dynamics and form decisions, and notes with a fine red pen and a ruler, is consistent in many of Hemphill’s scores from the 1980s or so onward. This score does not include the melody, which would have been in the lead alto part to the original work.
The Julius Hemphill Papers is an archival collection at New York University. The collection contains scores, audiovisual documentation, and other material related to the life and career of composer and saxophonist Julius Hemphill. Materials are accessible by appointment. Click here to learn more.