''Requiem for Julius'' is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

group the

World Saxophone Quartet The World Saxophone Quartet is an American jazz ensemble founded in 1977, incorporating elements of free jazz, R&B, funk and South African jazz into their music. The original members were Julius Hemphill (alto and soprano saxophone, flute), ...

released by the Justin Time label. The album features performances by

Hamiet Bluiett Hamiet Bluiett (; September 16, 1940 – October 4, 2018) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His primary instrument was the baritone saxophone, and he was considered one of the finest players of this instrument. A membe ...

, John Purcell,

Oliver Lake Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black Art ...

and David Murray and is dedicated to the band's founding member

Julius Hemphill Julius Arthur Hemphill (January 24, 1938 – April 2, 1995) was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone, less often on soprano and tenor saxophones and flute. Biography Hemphill was born in Fort Worth, Texas, ...

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by Michael G. Nastos stated: "A long-overdue official farewell for Hemphill, ''Requiem for Julius'' not only harkens back to the sound of WSQ's initial recordings, but indicates that they have plenty of original music left in the tank."Nastos, M.
Allmusic Review
accessed July 19, 2011 The authors of the ''

Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' wrote: "Not just for their connection with the WSQ's past, this and the 25th-anniversary record are perhaps the most accessible recordings by the group and they are certainly a good place to start."

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

's Glenn Astarita commented: "''Requiem For Julius'' is a truly exceptional homage to the late great saxophonist/composer... a durable, multidimensional, fervent and altogether superfine recollection of the late great Julius Hemphill and undoubtedly one of the finest WSQ recordings in recent years. Highly recommended!" Another AAJ reviewer stated: "The quartet... invokes its remarkable ability to trade off between tight arrangements and free improvisation. In fact, it's often hard to tell where the arrangements leave off and the improvisation begins."

Track listing

# "Ebony" ( DeJohnette) - 7:45 # "Free and Independent Thought" (Bluiett) - 3:01 # "All Praise" (Purcell) - 5:57 # "Requiem for Julius" (Murray) - 6:46 # "Le Sport Suite" (Lake) - 7:50 # "Hurricane Floyd" (Murray) - 10:46 # "Potato Vamp" (Lake) - 3:42 # "Tone Poem" (Lake) - 5:54 # "Blues" (Bluiett, Lake, Murray, Purcell) - 4:11

Personnel

—

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

* John Purcell —

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

— alto saxophone * David Murray —

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

References

{{Authority control 2000 albums World Saxophone Quartet albums