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World Saxophone Quartet

World Saxophone Quartet - band/ensemble

Originally consisting of saxophonists David Murray, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake and Hamiet Bluiett, the World Saxophone Quartet is one of the finest and most unusual small combos in jazz today. The Quartet began performing as a unit in 1976, inspired by Ed Jordan, head of Music at New Orleans Southern University. Jordan had heard the saxophonists in their individual groups, and hired them to do a show together. "We liked it, and started doing gigs at other colleges," remembers David Murray. Although three of the original members, Hemphill, Lake and Bluiett, knew each other from St.Louis, it was not until this event that they decided to create a group consisting only of four saxophones. Since then, the group has recorded many albums together, including the critically-acclaimed "Plays Duke Ellington" (Nonesuch), which was voted one of the best albums of 1986 in New York Times. Describing the group as "probably the most protean and exciting new jazz band of the 1980s", Jon Pareles of the Times called the WSQ "the most original and important group to emerge since Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane redefined group improvisation in the late 1950s."

The WSQ places consistently in the top five groups listed in Down Beat's Annual Critic's Poll. In 1987 they were voted "Best Jazz Group" in the Playboy Reader's Poll. Television appearances include two segments on VH-1's "New Visions" program and an appearance on "NBC's Night Music." The WSQ has an extremely diverse following, and has toured extensively throughout the U.S., Europe and Japan, where they enjoyed a major success as part of the "Live Under The Sky" Festival. Their reputation hinges most importantly on a repertoire that is theirs exclusively. Their albums "Dances and Ballads" and "Rhythm and Blues" significantly increased the popularity of this unique ensemble. Their signature tune, "Hattie Wall," is also a video, directed by Robert Longo. In 1990 Hemphill left the group and was replaced first by Arthur Blythe, then James Spaulding and later Eric Person.

Hamiet Bluiett (baritone sax, alto clarinet) is the most excellent baritone saxophonist to emerge in the '70s and beyond, and has superb command of his instrument in every register. He openly acknowledges the dramatic impact of hearing Ellington baritone saxophonist Harry Carney at a gig in Boston years ago. In addition to his association with the St. Louis Black Artists Group, his credits include work with the Gateway Symphony, Charles Mingus, Sam Rivers, Babatunde Olatunji, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye.

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6
Radio & Podcasts

David Murray & the World Saxophone Quartet (1979 - 1996)

Read "David Murray & the World Saxophone Quartet (1979 - 1996)" reviewed by Russell Perry


Perhaps no jazz musician recorded a more varied output in more diverse settings in the 1980s than tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist David Murray. Three of the best bands to emerge in the decade were his Octet, his Quartet and the collaborative World Saxophone Quartet. He may have been the most recorded jazz artist of the decade, as well, and with consistently high quality. Playlist Host Intro 0:00 World Saxophone Quartet “Fast Life" from W.S.Q. (Black Saint) 3:57 ...

306
Album Review

World Saxophone Quartet: Political Blues

Read "Political Blues" reviewed by Jim Santella


Long recognized as an avant-garde fixture with creativity up the wazoo, the World Saxophone Quartet has a language all its own. Its four-part harmony flows worlds apart from the norm while its improvised antics reach right out into your soul and grab hold. The quartet's albums can usually be ranked at the top before you even take a listen because you know that emotions are going to be on fire.

As a departure from the World Saxophone Quartet's ...

336
Album Review

World Saxophone Quartet: Political Blues

Read "Political Blues" reviewed by Karl A.D. Evangelista


Political conscience occupies a special place in the quintessence of modern jazz, fueling, in its most heated moments, the stuff of blunt insurrection. It remains to be seen whether Political Blues, the most recent offering by the World Saxophone Quartet, occupies the same territory as those few moments of musical activism that have not only informed but also crucially affected the practice of revolution--Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite (Candid, 1960) is one, Charlie Haden's first Liberation Music Orchestra (Impulse!, 1969) ...

148
Album Review

World Saxophone Quartet: Experience

Read "Experience" reviewed by Kurt Gottschalk


With its glory days more than arguably behind it, the WSQ has become something of a powerhouse repertory band. Beginning in 1977, the four saxophonists (then Hamiet Bluiett, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, and David Murray) released seven remarkable albums in eight years before finding a second calling as an interpreting ensemble with 1986's brilliant Plays Duke Ellington. They followed that with an R&B set and a meeting with African drums; good albums both, but they marked the loss of Hemphill ...

231
Album Review

World Saxophone Quartet: Experience

Read "Experience" reviewed by Phil DiPietro


Sick 'o' standards? Here, the members of the World Saxophone Quartet, who could tackle anything, jack the repertoire of Jimi Hendrix and render it to their whim.

The WSQ is known for working without a rhythm section, but they use one here on 4 of 8 cuts (including “If 6 was 9"). That decision, coupled with whom they picked, is vital to the overall success of the outing. The ferocious drummer, Gene Lake, on fire throughout, is the real deal ...

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Interview

A Fireside Chat with The World Saxophone Quartet

Read "A Fireside Chat with The World Saxophone Quartet" reviewed by AAJ Staff


The muscularity and imposing sound of the World Saxophone Quartet can be overwhelming to neophytes. Practiced listeners welcome WSQ's stately resonance and unpretentious tenor. And although the second alto chair vacated by the departure and passing of the late Julius Hemphill has evolved, a permanent substitute seems remote. The seasoned Oliver Lake, established Hamiett Bluiett, and dynamic David Murray (unedited and in their own words) continue to expand the lore of (after more than a quartet of a century) what ...

115
Album Review

World Saxophone Quartet: Experience

Read "Experience" reviewed by Jim Santella


The World Saxophone Quartet has never sounded better. It’s all about the music. With their eighth Justin Time album, they’ve rediscovered a source that has inspired generations. Although Jimi Hendrix passed in 1970, his music has stayed with us through thick and thin. How could we have ever survived Vietnam without his music? Two Gulf wars and numerous tragedies, both home and abroad, have left their mark on our existence. Through it all, several generations have been fortunate to have ...

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227

Recording

World Saxophone Quartet - Yes We Can (Jazzwerkstatt, 2011)

World Saxophone Quartet - Yes We Can (Jazzwerkstatt, 2011)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland

Entering their fourth decade as a progressive musical force, the WSQ present a very exciting live album recorded in March of 2009 in Berlin. Hamiet Bluiett on baritone sax and clarinet and David Murray on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet are the only holdovers from the original lineup, but they are more than ably joined by Kidd Jordan on alto saxophone and James Carter on tenor and soprano saxophones. High energy excitement is the order of the day here, inspired ...

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Performance / Tour

M'boom, World Saxophone Quartet at Birdland Jan. 19-23 + World Tour

M'boom, World Saxophone Quartet at Birdland Jan. 19-23 + World Tour

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

M'Boom, World Saxophone Quartet 2010 tour Tour dates New York City: Birdland, 44th Street, Jan. 19-23, 2010 Milan, Italy: Feb. 14, 2010 Paris, France: Feb. 16, 2010 Hamburg, Germany: Feb. 18-19, 2010 Nearly three decades have passed since that glorious 1981 evening, when an audience of three thousand gathered in the cathedral of St. John the Divine to hear what Max Roach called a “Grand Collaboration": a concert by M'Boom and the ...

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Performance / Tour

M'boom Meets World Saxophone Quartet

M'boom Meets World Saxophone Quartet

Source: Michael Ricci

BIRDLAND & 3D FAMILY PRESENT M'BOOM MEETS WORLD SAXOPHONE QUARTET “The Grand Collaboration 2010" JANUARY 19th until 23rd 2010 BIRDLAND, NEW YORK, NY Nearly three decades have passed since that glorious 1981 evening, when an audience of three thousand gathered in the cathedral of St. John the Divine to hear what Max Roach called a “Grand Collaboration": a concert by M'Boom and the World Saxophone Quartet. For those who were there and ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Yes We Can

Hoob Jazz
2010

buy

Political Blues

Justin Time Records
2007

buy

Political Blues

Justin Time Records
2006

buy

Experience

Justin Time Records
2005

buy

Experience

Justin Time Records
2004

buy

Steppenwolf

Justin Time Records
2002

buy

Videos

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Ornette Coleman
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David S. Ware
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Arthur Blythe
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Art Ensemble Of Chicago
band / ensemble / orchestra
Julius Hemphill
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