by Editor
Composition for trumpet, tenor saxophone, and cello, with drums likely added in performance. The archive includes parts in holograph as well as a photocopy of a score. No known recording.
From Marty Ehrlich: This 26-bar piece would have been performed by the Julius Hemphill Quartet during the period when he was playing tenor sax, in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
by Editor
Composition for tenor saxophone, flugelhorn, cello, and marimba. The first part of the score in the Julius Hemphill Papers has the title “Hymn,” and consists of sixteen measures of half-note chords. “Sir Preacher” is part of the theater work Ralph Ellison’s Long Tongue, where it is scored for a quartet of tenor saxophone, French horn, and cello. The archive includes professionally copied parts on manuscript for tenor saxophone, flugelhorn, cello, and marimba.
From Marty Ehrlich: This work appears on video recordings in the archive from performances of Ralph Ellison’s Long Tongue at the Kitchen in New York City in 1981. See Archival Audiovisual Material for more information.
by Editor
Composition for soprano saxophone, trumpet, marimba, and cello. This work appears to be part of a suite with “Hand-Packed” and “Volunteered Blues.” The archive includes a photocopy of a score in holograph. No known recording.
From Marty Ehrlich: There is a note on the score, “K.C. cue,” which may refer to Hemphill’s frequent collaborator, the poet K. Curtis Lyle. “Rivers of Fire” has a series of short phrases, with open spaces for improvisation. As with “Hand-Packed” and “Volunteered Blues,” the instrumentation in this score is the same as the quartet on the album Flat-Out Jump Suite, except with Warren Smith on marimba rather than other percussion. I would date this work ca. 1980.
by Editor
Composition for the Julius Hemphill Quartet, recorded as the first track on Side B of the LP Flat-Out Jump Suite (1980).
From Marty Ehrlich: Although Hemphill was a prodigious composer of notated music, he chose at times to do an open improvisation with his colleagues on a given recording. In this case, Hemphill added titles to the improvised pieces: “Ear,” “Mind (1st part),” “Mind (2nd part)” and “Heart.” The piece Hemphill titled “Body” on this recording was a notated composition originally titled “Flat-Out Jump Suite.”
Found on: Flat-Out Jump Suite.
by Editor
Composition for the Julius Hemphill Quartet, recorded as the second track on Side A of the LP Flat-Out Jump Suite (1980).
From Marty Ehrlich: Although Hemphill was a prodigious composer of notated music, he chose at times to do an open improvisation with his colleagues on a given recording. In this case, Hemphill added titles to the improvised pieces: “Ear,” “Mind (1st part),” “Mind (2nd part)” and “Heart.” The piece Hemphill titled “Body” on this recording was a notated composition originally titled “Flat-Out Jump Suite.”
Found on: Flat-Out Jump Suite.
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.