the hemphill stringtet

The Hemphill Stringtet is a collective string quartet devoted to performing the music of African  American composer and saxophonist Julius Hemphill (1938-1995). The quartet’s members have  diverse backgrounds and are all distinguished improvisers. The group’s repertoire currently  consists of “Mingus Gold,” a string quartet commissioned but not recorded by the Kronos  Quartet; and a selection of pieces that Hemphill wrote for the World Saxophone Quartet (edited  for string quartet by Marty Ehrlich). Mingus Gold is a suite of three pieces by Charles Mingus  which Hemphill put his own compositional stamp on. 

The quartet aims to bring greater attention to Hemphill’s compositions and highlight his role as  a major Black American composer of the late twentieth century. In his obituary, The New York  Times called him “one of the most important musicians of his generation.” Additionally, the  group aims to expand the role of improvisation, particularly from the African American  tradition, in the string quartet instrumentation. The group is notably inspired by some of the  polyphony and group improvisation practiced by the World Saxophone Quartet (of which  Hemphill was a member).  

The group was founded in January 2022, and has performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival (2022),  Chicago Frequency Festival (2022), The Stone (NYC, 2023), Edgefest (Ann Arbor, 2023), and The  Andrew Freedman Home (NYC, 2023). Their debut recording, “The Hemphill Stringtet Plays the  Music of Julius Hemphill,” was released on Out of Your Head Records in April of 2025.