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Julius Hemphill : Composer

Malinké Kenyatta

Bells

February 11, 2020 by Tamar Barzel

No known score or parts; present in the archive only on archival recordings. See Cuid 20696, Cuid 20745, and Cuid 20749 in Archival Audiovisual Material.

From Marty Ehrlich: At some point in the mid 1970s, Hemphill was visiting Malinké Elliott, his close theatrical collaborator from BAG. They got access to a lumber industry salvage yard, called Zinneger Brothers Salvage. Oregon is a center of the lumber industry, and the salvage yard was full of old saws and picks, some of them very large—used to cut down trees before the advent of power tools.

Hemphill and Elliott were given access to this shed and lumber yard at 6:30 PM, after the work day had ended. They had brought their friend Greg Daugherty to do the recording. Greg had a good reel-to-reel machine and numerous mics, excellent equipment for the time. They went around the warehouse, found what had resonance, and hung these pieces up on the rafters of the shed. Julius, always the DIY artist, had already made mallets out of tree sticks and rubber tires.

They started recording at midnight. They recorded close to an hour of music.

Hemphill and Elliott integrated “Bells” as atmospheric music into their multi-disciplinary work, “Ralph Ellison’s Long Tongue,” and perhaps they used it in other theatre works they developed in the late 1970’s. Hemphill improvising with the tape playing during his solo concerts, using it as his rhythm section, if you will. 

Filed Under: Compositions A-E Tagged With: Malinké Kenyatta, Ralph Ellison's Long Tongue

Ralph Ellison’s Long Tongue

August 15, 2018 by Editor

Multimedia theater piece developed by Hemphill with Malinké Elliott, first performed in November, 1978, in Washington, D.C., at the Corcoran Gallery. A new version was performed at the Kitchen in New York City in January, 1981. Some material from this performance was later incorporated into “Long Tongues: A Saxophone Opera.”

The Julius Hemphill Papers includes a score  in Hemphill’s hand featuring the movements “Sketch 1,” “Sketch 2,” “Sketch 3,” “Sketch 4,” and “Sir Preacher.” The instrumentation includes alto and tenor saxophone, trumpet, flute, French horn, and cello, though it varies by movement. There are parts in Hemphill’s hand for “Carnival Barker” and “Orator,” both of which were also part of the performance at some point. There is also archival audio of the work for solo percussion called “Bells,” developed by Hemphill and Malinké Elliott and incorporated into this theatrical work.

The Julius Hemphill Papers includes a video recording of the performance from The Kitchen on January 2, 1981.

Return to Annotated Composition List.

Filed Under: Compositions M-R Tagged With: Large-scale works, Malinké Kenyatta, Ralph Ellison's Long Tongue

Collected Poem for Blind Lemon Jefferson, The

August 6, 2018 by Editor

Composition recorded for the album The Collected Poem for Blind Lemon Jefferson (1971), the first release on Hemphill’s Mbari Records label. The album features Hemphill on flute and saxophone, with spoken word poetry by K. Curtis Lyle (who wrote the text) and Malinké Kenyatta. No known score.

Found on: The Collected Poem for Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Return to Annotated Composition List.

Filed Under: Compositions A-E Tagged With: Collected Poem for Blind Lemon Jefferson, K. Curtis Lyle, Malinké Kenyatta, No known score

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Julius Hemphill : Composer

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About the Julius Hemphill Papers

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.

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