Julius Hemphill : Composer

Oakland Duets

For Billie

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Composition, written in honor of Billie Holiday, which Hemphill arranged for several different ensembles throughout his career. The archive includes several scores and sets of parts.

There is a score for alto saxophone with chord notations, as well as a version for big band, a later extension of this big-band arrangement, and an arrangement for trumpet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, French horn, guitar, bass, and percussion. The big band version was first performed at the Public Theatre in New York City in 1980 and was later recorded, with slightly different instrumentation, on Julius Hemphill Big Band (1988). 

Found on: Julius Hemphill Big Band, Oakland Duets.

From Marty Ehrlich: On a personal note, Julius plays so beautifully on this piece on the 1988 recording. It is some of his most striking alto playing in a song form context, straight from the heart. After we recorded this tune, [reed player] John Stubblefield said to Julius, “You put another wrinkle on Bird!” Julius smiled, and I know how much that meant to him coming from such a player and long-time friend.

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C

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This composition had a number of alternative titles. As “C,” it was recorded as a trio with cello and percussion for Raw Materials and Residuals (1978); as a duet with cello for Oakland Duets (1993)—both with Abdul Wadud—and in a small group for the Lester Bowie album Fast Last! (1974). As “C/Saw,” it was recorded by big band on the album Julius Hemphill Big Band (1988). It also appears as “C (Those Blues)” in the big-band score in Hemphill’s hand and on archival recordings of live performances. The archive contains the score and parts for the big-band arrangement.

From Marty Ehrlich: This is was Hemphill’s go-to blues, along with “K.C. Line.” Both pieces are up-tempo works evoking the language of Charlie Parker and his peers, the whole lineage up to the bebop era. The piece is at the core of Hemphill’s language on the alto saxophone.

Found on: Raw Materials and Residuals, Julius Hemphill Big Band, Oakland Duets, Fast Last!.

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