Boxes Filled With History, Boxes Filled With Music

 

January 24th was the 83rd birthday anniversary of saxophonist, composer, arranger, conceptualist, and story-teller Julius Hemphill (1938-1995).  Before forming the World Saxophone Quartet, the Fort Worth, Texas, native had co-founded the Black Artists Group (BAG) in St. Louis and, upon moving to New York City in the early 1970s had recorded with trumpeter Lester Bowie and fellow saxophonist Anthony Braxton.  The WSQ began in 1977 and was an ensemble that originally included Oliver Lake, Hamiet Bluiett, and David Murray –– Hemphill stayed with the ensemble for 13 years, touring and making albums for Black Saint and Nonesuch Records. After leaving that group, he formed an "electric" band, a saxophone sextet, and composed for big band and string quartet plus works for solo piano performed by long-time companion, Ursula Oppens, an opera, and several works for dance companies.  Hemphill created two truly fascinating solo albums "Roi Boyé and the Gotham Minstrels" (Sackville Records) and "Blue Boyé" (Mbari Records) both issued in 1977. Both "solo" recordings feature multiple tracks of alto and soprano saxophones plus flute, and, like the vast majority of Hemphill's original music, blurred (often obliterated) the lines between blues, folk, and jazz. "Roi Boyé", as well, is noted for Hemphill's use of overdubbed voices and poetry. 

New World Records has just issued the seven-CD "THE BOYÉ MULTI-NATIONAL CRUSADE FOR HARMONY" with the subtitle "Archival Recordings 1977-2007".  One hears the composer-saxophonist in numerous lineups as well as one solo track. Especially fascinating are the duos with cellist Abdul Wadud, bassist Jerome Harris, and with poet K.C. Lyle and Malinké Elliott.  The seventh CD "Live at Joyous Lake" features a quartet including Hemphill, trumpeter Baikida Carroll, bassist Dave Holland, and drummer Jack DeJohnette.  Each of the seven runs over 60 minutes with three running more than 73 minutes.  One ensemble, The Janus Company ––a trio with Hemphill, Carroll, and drummer Alex Cline –– is featured on the third disk. Two of the three trio tracks come from a studio while the third piece comes from a live gig recorded by the trumpeter in Berkeley, CA.  Two more live performances recorded by Carroll in Philadelphia, PA, feature cellist Wadud with the trio; one gets to hear a powerful performance of "Dogon A.D." that is filled with roaring and soaring solos.  

Photo: George Rose/ Getty

Not only are there previously unheard compositions of Hemphill's but also the "Chamber Music" disk features "Mingus Gold", three pieces by bassist Charles Mingus that Hemphill arranged for the Daedalus String Quartet.  Included in the set, recorded in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA, is a rollicking rendition of "Better Get Hit In Yo' Soul."

One could write that "THE BOYÉ MULTI-NATIONAL CRUSADE FOR HARMONY" is a collection for Julius Hemphill completists. That is somewhat false in that these 52 tracks are not a collection of alternate takes but truly a deep dive into the many ensembles that Hemphill wrote for, organized, and played with. Many of these pieces are issued here for the first time.  There are several pieces on which the leader stretches out, letting loose, showing his mastery of his reeds as well as how he is such a delightful "conversationalist" when he plays. Those who purchase this set (information below) should take the time to read producer Marty Ehrlich's incisive and expansive essay on the person and the music you're listening to.   

For more information, go to www.newworldrecords.org/products/julius-hemphill-1938-1995-the-boye-multi-national-crusade-for-harmony-box-set. 

To whet your appetite, here's Julius Hemphill and Abdul Wadud from the 1993 album "Oakland Duets":

Photo: Jason Andrew

Bassist, composer, conceptualist William Parker (born January 10, 1952) has been a mainstay of Black Creative Music since 1971. In those days and nights of the New York City "Loft Jazz" scene, Parker played alongside luminaries such as drummers Ed Blackwell and Sunny Murray, trumpeters Don Cherry and Bill Dixon, and in 1980, pianist Cecil Taylor.  He was an original member of saxophonist David S. Ware's Quartet, playing with that ensemble from 1988 through Ware's untimely death in 2012.  He's also played extensively with pianist Matthew Shipp in several of his ensembles, with saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, with guitarist/ bassist Joe Morris, with trumpeter Roy Campbell (in the group Other Dimensions in Music) and many others.  Parker has been issuing albums as a leader and co/leader since the early 1990s on labels such as FMP, AUM Fidelity, Eremite, Thirsty Ear, Centering Records, and other independent outlets. As a bassist, Parker can be solid, foundational, holding down the bottom in the style of Wilbur Ware and Charles Mingus; like the latter musician, he's also a powerful, melodic, soloist.

2021 brings, perhaps, the most impressive set of recordings in Parker's career.  "Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World (Volumes 1–10)" (AUM Fidelity) is a 10-CD box, 10 very different settings of the bassist's music ranging from small groups to solo piano to a chamber ensemble and beyond; (notably missing is Parker's Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra which has been on hiatus since 2006).  Seven of the CDs feature vocalists; included are sessions with Fay Victor (with Parker and percussionist Hamid Drake), Raina Sokolov-Gonzalez​ (with a chamber octet), Ellen Christie (in a trio setting with Parker and trumpeter Jalulu-Kalvert Nelson), Kyoko Kitamura (in a quintet session with Parker), Jean Carla Rodea (with Parker and 10 other musician), Lisa Sokolov (solo voice), and Andrea Wolper (with Parker in a septet session dedicated to Italian movie directors).  

Photo: Peter Ganushkin

The remaining three recordings are instrumental.  Pianist Eri Yamamoto, who has often performed and recorded with the bassist, plays 14 solo Parker piano pieces on "Child of Sound", an impressive display of melody, emotion, and rhythmic variation.  "The Fastest Train" (CD #9) features Parker on a variety of flutes in a trio setting with Coen Aalberts (flutes, percussion, bird sounds, cricket sounds, drum set) and Klaas Hekman (flutes, piccolo, shakuhachi). Even though there are no vocals, every one of the 13 songs has a poem associated with the music. "Manzanar" is the 10th album and features Parker (various flutes, mouth organ) with the Universal Tonality String Quartet (violinists Jason Kao Hwang and Gwen Laster, violist Melanie Dyer, and cellist Dara Bloom). On the final track, "On Being Native", Parker is replaced by alto saxophonist Daniel Carter.  

All but one of the albums that comprise "Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World" was recorded between November 2018 and February 2020, the exception being "The Majesty of Jah" that was originally recorded in Autumn of 2010. In 2019, vocalist and conceptualist Ellen Christi took the original tapes, adding voices, sound snippets, and reassembled the album.  10 albums, 10+ hours of music, each ensemble has fascinating stories to tell, all coming from the fertile imagination of William Parker.  He endows his musicians and vocalists with the power to use their imaginations, to listen and interact, to make each ensemble unique and each track worth exploring. Spend a good amount of time with each one of these albums, find the pieces that speak to you, explore the ones that make you uncomfortable, read the copious notes but not until after you listen at least once, and then listen again.    

For more information, to listen to selected tracks, and to purchase the box set as CDs or audio files, go to https://williamparker.bandcamp.com/album/migration-of-silence-into-and-out-of-the-tone-world-volumes-1-10.  To check out Mr. Parker's career and other collaborations, go to www.williamparker.net/.