Gerry Hemingway (b. New Haven, Connecticut, 1955) is an American jazz composer and percussionist.
Hemingway was a member of the Anthony Braxton quartet from 1983 to 1994. He has also performed with Ernst Reijseger, Anthony Davis, Earl Howard, Leo Smith, George Lewis, Ray Anderson, Mark Helias, Reggie Workman, Michael Moore, Oliver Lake, Marilyn Crispell, Christy Doran, John Wolf Brennan, Don Byron, Cecil Taylor, and Cuong Vu.
He received a Guggenheim Fellowship for his work in music composition in 2000, and was a student of Alan Dawson. He is a graduate of Foote School in New Haven. Hemingway appears on over 100 recordings, on labels including Auricle, Clean Feed, Enja, hatArt, Palmetto, Random Acoustics, and Tzadik.
It's rare that an actual jazz date makes an appearance on the Random Acoustics label, so when one does rise up from the noisy improv ether, listeners are sure to pay attention. The Gerry Hemingway Quintet was an under-recorded unit chock-full of masterful players: Mark Dresser bass; Ernst Reijseger, cello; Michael Moore, saxophones and clarinet; Wolter Wierbos, trombone; and of course Hemingway, the man behind the kit. This disc is culled from a trio of performances from 1991 to 1993. While excerpts from concerts are usually unsatisfying for lack of continuity, this batch is different largely because it features live recordings of material that appeared on studio records before this compilation. For example, the version here of the title track is one that almost picks up in the middle of the version that appeared on the HatART disc Demon Chaser. The splattering tension that revs itself into a frenzy and threatens to go off its nut was only hinted at in the studio piece, which is therefore completed in this rendering. "Threnody/Taffia 2" is a live medley of "Threnody for Charles Mingus," which appeared on Outerbridge Crossing on the Sound Aspects label, and there is also a cruelly intense second half of "Taffia" from the HatART disc Special Detail. The Wierbos solo is meltdown fine and Hemingway's creation of a counterpoint with the dual bassing notions of Dresser and Reijseger swings for the fences of blues harmony. Also notable is the quintet version of "If You Like," which pits Dresser and Reijseger against one another in a duel to the death of harmonic invention and scalar intrigue, all the while swinging within a hard bop/blues framework with Hemingway triple-time soloing all around them, creating a an almost impossible contrapuntal situation as Wierbos and Moore hold down the swing in lyrical elegance. This is just an awesome disc. Period. - Thom Jurek
This listing is for a rare CD title - a USED / OPENED, in excellent overall condition CD, PRESSED and ISSUED by RANDOM ACOUSTICS of a highly collectible title from their CD catalog, featuring -
Gerry Hemingway Quintet
CD Title -
Slamadam
Track Listing -
1. If You Like (Quintet Version) - 12:47
2. Waltz Anywhere (Quintet Version) - 10:16
3. Slamadam - 9:24
4. Threnody / Taffia - 16:37
5. Pumbum (Quartet Version) - 12:23
Performed by -
Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Michael Moore
Artwork [Drawing By] – Gerry Hemingway
Bass – Mark Dresser
Cello – Ernst Reijseger
Composed By [All Compositions By] – Gerry Hemingway
Drums, Steel Drums – Gerry Hemingway
Producer [Produced By] – Gerry Hemingway
Trombone – Wolter Wierbos
The CD is from the RANDOM ACOUSTICS series of CDs.
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CD catalog # RA 012
CD made in GERMANY
CD was issued in 1995
1, 2, 3 recorded at Teatre aan de Moelen Laan / Bussum, Holland on February 10, 1994
4 recorded at BIM Huis / Amsterdam on February 27, 1993 for NOS Radio
5 recorded at BIM Huis / Amsterdam on November 28, 1991
Printed by Moosdruck, Leverkusen
Comes in foldout cardboard sleeve (delicate and weak)
The CD, JEWEL CASE AND INSERT are all in excellent overall condition. The CD has a few light marks on the reflective side of the disc, nothing serious (the disc sits directly inside the digi-sleeve on cardboard so marks can be easily made on the CD's reflective surface). When play tested on our audio system, it performed PERFECTLY.
This CD is an audiophile quality pressing (any collector of fine MFSL, half speeds, direct to discs, Japanese/UK pressings etc., can attest to the difference a quality pressing can make to an audio system).
Do not let this rarity slip
by!