Composition consisting of five chords with fermatas, for saxophone sextet (three alto, two tenor, and baritone), recorded on Five Chord Stud (1994). The archive includes a holograph score with the titles “Shorty” and “Five Chord Stud,” and two sets of parts, one for each title; the two-measure intro notated in the score is not included on the “Five Chord Stud” parts.
Found on: Five Chord Stud.
From Marty Ehrlich: Hemphill was too sick to play saxophone on this recording. This is the one new piece he brought to the session. We recorded it without rehearsal. The chords are held while one of the saxophones solos over the chord. On one hand, it seemed to be all he could do as a composer at that point. On the other hand, he trusted us to make a piece out of these sounds. It was a very moving situation.