Julius Hemphill

Julius Arthur Hemphill (January 24, 1938, Fort Worth, Texas - April 2, 1995, New York City) was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone; less often soprano and tenor saxophones and flute. Hemphill was born in Fort Worth, Texas (also, incidentally, the hometown of Ornette Coleman), and studied the clarinet before learning saxophone. Gerry Mulligan was an early influence. Hemphill joined the United States Army in... more

Julius Arthur Hemphill (January 24, 1938, Fort Worth, Texas - April 2, 1995, New York City) was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone; less often soprano and tenor saxophones and flute. Hemphill was born in Fort Worth, Texas (also, incidentally, the hometown of Ornette Coleman), and studied the clarinet before learning saxophone. Gerry Mulligan was an early influence. Hemphill joined the United States Army in 1964, and served for several years, and later performed with Ike Turner for a brief period. In 1968, Hemphill moved to St. Louis, Missouri and co-founded the Black Artists' Group (BAG), a multidisciplinary arts collective that brought him into contact with artists such as saxophonists Oliver Lake and Hamiet Bluiett, trumpeters Baikida Carroll and Floyd LeFlore, and writer/director Malinke Robert Elliott. Hemphill moved to New York City in the mid-1970s, and was active in the then-thriving free jazz community. He taught saxophone lessons to a... less