JULIUS HEMPHILL - One Atmosphere 2003, Tzadik 7090

www.tzadik.com

by Efren delValle

Tzadik has become a label with a great expertise in rescuing works by unsung musical heroes or putting reknown musicians in alien environments: Derek Bailey interpreting a whole set of jazz standards; AACM trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith in duo with laptop madcap Ikue Mori; a long work by concrete-music maverick Luc Ferrari or an early piece by Harry Partch are good examples of this. Julius Hemphill may be an acknowledged name in the free-jazz world, but certainly not for the uninitiated.

Through numerous projects and his ongoing work with the World Saxophone Quartet, Hemphill developed a personal compositional style, equally rooted in the jazz and classical traditions, exerting a great influence on such remarkable figures like Tim Berne.

One Atmosphere, written in 1992, is a long composition masterfully performed by The Pacifica String Quartet and pianist Ursula Oppens. The piece is constructed upon long ostinatos with a perfect balance of spacious segments and bursts of controlled chordal aggresivity. Oppens’ light touch, the precision of the quartet and the dynamism imbued by Hemphill’s lyrical skills, make One Atmosphere one of his greatest recorded compositions.

The album follows with Savannah Suite, a short piece composed back in 1978 and performed by one of Hemphill’s most advantaged pupils, multi-reedist Marty Ehrlich, accompanied by Erik Friedlander on cello and Pheroan Aklaff on percussion. The virtuosism of Ehrlich’s flute leads the small ensemble through this eight-minute blues, perfectly knitted over Friedlander’s repetitive pizzicato lines and subtle hand-percussion.

The 1976 wind septet Water Music For Woodwinds is a magnificient example of the composer’s love of unusual instrumentations and a perfect display of harmonic complextity and melodic richness. Contemporary jazz figures like the aforementioned Ehrlich, Tim Berne and Oliver Lake, among others, perform with a vigorousness that might have sounded erratic in someone else’s hands and turn this intrincate piece of music into a pleasant, colorful musical experience.

Tracks: One Atmosphere/Savannah Suite/Water Music for Woodwinds

Time: 51:06

Personnel: Ursula Oppens (p), Pacifica String Quartet, Marty Ehrlich (ss, as, fl), Erik Friedlander (clo), Pheeroan ak Laff (d), Woodwind Septet: Marty Ehrlich, Oliver Lake, Sam Furnace, Aaron Stewart, Robert DeBellis, Tim Berne, JD Parran.