Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Hemphill String Stringtet: The Hemphill Stringtet Pl...

19

The Hemphill String Stringtet: The Hemphill Stringtet Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill

By

View read count
Track review of "My First Winter/Touchic"

The Hemphill String Stringtet: The Hemphill Stringtet Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill
The Hemphill Stringtet's debut album, Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill is a vibrant tribute to the late jazz composer and saxophonist Julius Hemphill (1938—1995). This string quartet, featuring violinists Curtis Stewart and Sam Bardfeld, violist Stephanie Griffin and cellist Tomeka Reid, reimagines Hemphill's compositions with a fresh chamber music perspective. Formed in 2022, the ensemble aims to amplify Hemphill's legacy as a pivotal Black American composer while infusing his blues-inflected jazz with improvisational flair rooted in African American traditions. The two-part track "My First Winter/Touchic," a medley of two pieces, exemplifies this mission, blending lyrical tenderness with dynamic grooves.

"My First Winter/Touchic" opens with the hauntingly beautiful "My First Winter," where Stewart's violin delivers a loose, emotive melody that evokes the chill and introspection of a first snowfall. The quartet's interplay is delicate yet purposeful, with Reid's cello anchoring the texture with delicate, plucked notes that nod to Hemphill's collaborator Abdul Wadud. As the track transitions into a freer, improvised bridge, Bardfeld's violin solo emerges, weaving bluesy phrases with a virtuosic edge that feels both rooted and exploratory, segueing into a free-form breakout. The shift into "Touchic" is smooth yet electrifying, as the ensemble locks into a hard-grooving odd-meter ostinato. Griffin's solo here is a standout, dancing atop the rhythmic pulse with an Ornette Coleman-like balance of freedom and fidelity to the bass line. Her lyrical improvisation, set against wispy harmonics and Reid's steady cello, captures Hemphill's knack for fusing structure with spontaneity.

The medley's strength lies in its ability to honor Hemphill's compositional voice while highlighting Stringtet's improvisational prowess. The transition from the achingly tender "My First Winter" to the lively, "Touchic" mirrors the emotional range of Hemphill's work, from introspective to boisterous. Hence, this is a testament to Hemphill's enduring relevance and Stringtet's bold vision, making it an entrancing centerpiece of this momentous endeavor.

Track Listing

Revue; Mingus Gold: Nostalgia in Times Square; Mingus Gold: Alice in Wonderland; Mingus Gold: Better Get Hit in Your Soul; My First Winter/Touchic; Choo Choo.

Personnel

Album information

Title: The Hemphill Stringtet Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Out Of Your Head Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Popular

Life Eats Life
Collin Sherman
Lumen
Bill Laurance

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.