Composition for saxophone sextet (two soprano, alto, two tenor, and baritone). Although it was never recorded with a rhythm section, the score in the archive includes material for bass and drums. This instrumentation suggests a connection with “Long Tongues: A Saxophone Opera.” According to Marty Ehrlich, however, it was not used in the versions of “Long Tongues” with which he was involved.
Found on: Five Chord Stud, The Hard Blues: Live in Lisbon.
From Marty Ehrlich: This piece is a musical homage to Ornette Coleman, to whom Julius was related. Julius told members of the Sextet that “Mr. Critical” refers to a nickname given to Ornette as a young man in Fort Worth, Texas—where both Coleman and Hemphill are from—by saxophonist Red Conners. Conners gave him that name, as I remember Julius telling it, as much for his appearance as for his playing. Ornette had long hair at a time and at times wore an overcoat in the Texas summer. Julius would say, “Critical, as in Critical Care Unit,” with a great smile, as a kind of in-the-family joke. (In my years presenting concerts posthumously with the Hemphill Saxophone Sextet, I gave up trying to tell this story before we performed “Mr. Critical”, as it made no sense coming from me.)