Plays The Music Of Julius Hemphill
Out Of Your Head, 2025
9/10
Listen to Plays The Music Of Julius Hemphill
We’re treated to the first ever studio recording of a string quartet performing these 5 Julius Hemphill compositions, as Curtis Stewart, Sam Bardfeld, Stephanie Griffin, and Tomeka Reid, i.e. The Hemphill Stringtet, blend their strings with exciting and skilled ideas.
“Revue” opens and uses Stewart and Bardfeld’s precise violins for both warm and adventurous bouts that are unpredictable and memorable, and “Mingus Gold: Nostalgia In Time” follows with strong attention to mood, where Griffin’s viola is used strategically.
The middle track belongs to “Mingus Gold: Alice In Wonderland”, where swirling strings radiate intimacy and richness, while “Mingus Gold: Better Get Hit In Your Soul” allows for Reid’s meticulous cello to add another dimension to the dynamic string interaction.
“Choo Choo” exits, and it illustrates each of the member’s inimitable talents via a busy and textured display of improvisation.
A really creative effort, The Hemphill Stringtet’s use of improvised and written ideas and their distinct version of contemporary classical really does justice to Hemphill’s legacy.
Travels well with: Adam O’Farrill- For These Streets; Alfredo Colón- Blood Burden