Articles by Hank Hehmsoth

Catching Up With

Elias Haslanger: Music for 2026, Not 1956

by Hank Hehmsoth
August 27, 2026

Tenor saxophonist and composer Elias Haslanger has spent much of his career carrying several generations of jazz history at once. An Austin native and longtime presence on the Central Texas jazz scene, he has absorbed lessons from mentors including Ellis Marsalis, Dr. James Polk and Maynard Ferguson while developing his own identity as a bandleader and composer. Legacy (Bandstand Presents, 2026), his ninth recording as leader, was released July 24 and features ten original compositions performed with trumpeter and flugelhornist Mike Sailors, pianists Andy ...

Interview

Michael Mordecai: The Man Who Keeps Austin Jazz Moving

by Hank Hehmsoth
June 15, 2026

Michael Mordecai has spent decades inside the machinery of Austin jazz: on the bandstand, behind the phone, at the booking desk, in the contractor's chair and in the community rooms where musicians, venues and advocates try to keep the music visible. His work has never fit neatly into a single category. Mordecai is a trombonist, bandleader, contractor, booking professional and civic-minded organizer, but his broader role may be more important than any one title. He is one of the people ...

The Jazz Files

Kenny Dorham: The Composer in the Horn - A Verified Chronology, 1953–1964

by Hank Hehmsoth
March 3, 2026

In jazz, a musician's sound is often discussed as if it were separate from the music on the page. With Kenny Dorham, the compositions tell the story as clearly as the trumpet does. Across the recordings made between '53 and '64, Dorham's originals trace a steady shift: from compact bebop logic to a leaner, more spacious language shaped by Afro-Cuban rhythm, blues economy and the emerging post-bop emphasis on melodic clarity. The list that follows is built on a simple ...

The Jazz Files

Songs for Nica: How Jazz Fell in Love with a Baroness

by Hank Hehmsoth
November 14, 2025

For decades, the name Nica has surfaced quietly but persistently in jazz titles and liner notes. Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter--the Rothschild-born patron and confidant of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and dozens of others--left a mark far deeper than her reputation as jazz's “Baroness." Her name became part of the music itself, traveling across generations and continents in melodies that still carry her spirit. The First Dedications Horace Silver Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers

Under the Radar

Eddie Durham: The Jazz Innovator a City Refuses to Forget

by Hank Hehmsoth
September 28, 2025

Eddie Durham's LegacyFew names in jazz carry the quiet weight of Eddie Durham. Born in San Marcos, Texas, in 1906, Durham was a trombonist, guitarist, composer, and arranger whose fingerprints are all over the sound of swing. He was a pioneering electric guitarist--the first to record with the instrument--and a key arranger for Bennie Moten, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, and Glenn Miller. Durham helped shape the Count Basie Orchestra's small-group feel, expanded orchestral voicings in ways that gave the band ...

The Jazz Files

Charles Rangel: Harlem’s Congressman, Jazz’s Quiet Witness

by Hank Hehmsoth
June 5, 2025

Charles Rangel was more than a Congressman. He was Harlem's heartbeat--a living archive of its culture, community, and sound. In the National Jazz Museum in Harlem's Harlem Speaks Oral History series, Rangel reflects on growing up with the music, the icons who defined a generation, and how jazz was inseparable from Black life in 20th-century America. In a remarkable interview conducted by Loren Schoenberg and Christian McBride, with appearances by Billy Taylor and Arthur Barnes, Rangel offers stories ...

The Jazz Files

Unearthed & Unforgettable: The Lost Tapes of Just Jazz

by Hank Hehmsoth
May 9, 2025

Rediscovering Just Jazz: A Lost Archive of Jazz Legends Returns Unearthed after more than 50 years, the Just Jazz video archives represent one of the most significant rediscoveries in jazz history. Produced by NEA Jazz Master Dan Morgenstern and originally broadcast in 1970 on WTTW Chicago, these rare recordings capture intimate, electrifying performances by some of the most influential jazz artists of the 20th century--performances that were long presumed lost. I uncovered this archival treasure while serving as ...

The Jazz Files

The History of Jazz Drums: An Archival Treasure Rediscovered

by Hank Hehmsoth
April 2, 2025

In the vast landscape of jazz history, few archives offer the depth and insight found in The History of Jazz Drums--an extraordinary 8-part radio series recorded in 1989. Featuring compelling conversations between Mel Lewis (1929-1990), a master drummer whose swing propelled The Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and Loren Schoenberg, senior scholar at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, this series captures the evolution of jazz drumming with remarkable depth and authenticity. Although initially broadcast as an 8-part series, ...

In Pictures

The Visual Language of Jazz

by Hank Hehmsoth
March 25, 2025

For decades, my creative journey as a jazz pianist and composer has been deeply intertwined with visual art. Each piece I create is rooted in the rhythms, harmonies, and improvisational spirit of jazz--transforming musical ideas into vivid, abstract forms. This curated gallery reflects that intersection of sound and sight. From album covers and performance posters to abstract canvases inspired by live improvisation, every image offers a glimpse into the dynamic dialogue between music and visual art. Whether capturing ...