Jazz Articles about Julius Hemphill

About Julius Hemphill

Jazz Raconteurs

Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a Musical Visionary

by Dave Kaufman
September 20, 2026

Julius Hemphill, a brilliant alto saxophonist and extraordinary composer, was a towering figure in avant-garde jazz and creative music. Yet his body of work remains surprisingly little known, even among aficionados of this sort of adventurous music. Hemphill's music demonstrated a deep feeling for the blues and other African American traditions. His creative vision extended well beyond jazz performance, incorporating chamber music, theater, dance, and other forms of artistic expression. Hemphill came of age during a period when Black experimental ...

Album Review

Marty Ehrlich and Julius Hemphill: Circle the Heart

Read "Circle the Heart" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
April 9, 2026

As a teenager in St. Louis, Missouri in the 1970s, young multi-instrumentalist Marty Ehrlich encountered the Black Artists Group, the pathbreaking musical collective co- founded by Julius Hemphill in 1968, and he eventually came to work closely with Hemphill for many years. Hemphill, himself an accomplished multi- instrumentalist on alto, soprano sax and flute, was an invaluable mentor for Ehrlich, particularly starting in the late 1970s when both musicians were working in New York City. Then, when health problems began ...

Radio & Podcasts

Julius Hemphill, Nels Cline and Eberhard Weber

by Jerome Wilson
October 12, 2022

I have been having temporary difficulties in uploading my recent radio shows. While I work on that, here is a program from July 27, 2021, that features the usual wide variety of musicians. This show includes Julius Hemphill, Nels Cline, Brian Woodruff, and Eberhard Weber. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait To Get Back Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Cathlene Pineda “Carriers II" from Rainbow Baby (Orenda) ...

Extended Analysis

The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony

by Stefano Merighi
April 16, 2021

Che trionfo per Julius Hemphill! A dispetto delle poche pagine--o righe--che le recenti storie del jazz dedicano al maestro di Fort Worth, Hemphill emerge da questo cofanetto di inediti come sassofonista-improvvisatore-compositore tra i più profondi della musica afroamericana nei decenni compresi tra gli anni '70 e '90. E questa preziosa edizione non solo torna a far luce su repertori e organici già conosciuti dai cultori, ma porta in superficie una gran mole di musica fresca, sorprendente, che ...

Album Review

Julius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony

Read "The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
April 3, 2021

There is something inherently objectionable when a billionaire acquires an artistic masterpiece by say, Leonardo DaVinci or Claude Monet, only to sequester it from public view. You might feel the same about Julius Hemphill's recordings Dogon A.D. (Mbari, 1972) and 'Coon Bid'ness (Arista/Freedom, 1975). Both five star recordings, now out of print, cost a small fortune to acquire. Years ago saxophonist Tim Berne, a disciple of Hemphill, endeavored to rescue the saxophonist's Blue Boyé (Mbari, 1977) by rereleasing it in ...

Album Review

Michael Gregory Jackson: Frequency Equilibrium Koan

Read "Frequency Equilibrium Koan" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
March 15, 2021

One of the undersung elder statesmen of the jazz avant-garde, guitarist Michael Gregory Jackson played a vital role in the burgeoning loft scene of the 1970s, where his work with Oliver Lake was especially noteworthy. On albums like Lake's Holding Together (Black Saint, 1976) and Zaki (hatOLOGY, 1979), Jackson brought a deep reservoir of influences, not the least of which was a rock/R&B sensibility that he would later develop in more pop-oriented directions during the 1980s and '90s, a shift ...

Radio & Podcasts

Julius Hemphill, William Parker, Charles Lloyd, Sam Rivers & More New Releases

by Ludovico Granvassu
February 20, 2021

This week we focus our attention on two fundamental box-sets and a slew of live recordings the synchronicity of whose release draws the spotlight on musicians who were at the center of the legendary Loft Scene (from Julius Hemphill to Sam Rivers, Michael Gregory Jackson and JuJU), as well as on some of those musicians who have been keeping the loft scene's spirit alive (William Parker, Tim Berne and the Italian-Danish band On Dog). The latest albums by Charles Lloyd ...