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Hamiet Bluiett
Bluiett took music lessons from his aunt, who was a choral director, and started on clarinet at age nine. In late adolescence, he attended Southern University, where he studied clarinet and flute. Following a stint in the navy, Bluiett moved to St. Louis in the mid- '60s. He played with Lester and Joseph Bowie, Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Julius Hemphill and Oliver Lake. He also founded the BAG (Black Artists Group), the St. Louis equivalent of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
He moved to New York in 1969, and joined Sam Rivers' large ensemble and Olatunji. Bluiett worked with various bands before joining Charles Mingus' quintet in 1972, with whom he remained, off and on, until 1974. While his tenure was relatively short, Bluiett helped Mingus crystalize some of the finest music of his last years. After Mingus, Bluiett performed and recorded with Abdullah Ibrahim, Hemphill and others.
Bluiett, Hemphill, Lake and David Murray formed a quartet in 1976 for a New Orleans concert. They decided to remain intact as a working unit and named themselves the World Saxophone Quartet. They continued recording and performing into the '90s, with Arthur Blythe replacing Hemphill. The WSQ has been cited as one of the key groups of the '80s and '90s; Down Beat and the New York Times consider them among the most important acoustic jazz quartets performing today. In 1996 they recorded their acclaimed Justin Time debut, "Four Now," which features African percussionists; it was also their first with John Purcell. Bluiett has also worked with other bands. He was founder of the Clarinet Family, which featured eight clarinetists, and recorded with the Black Saint label in the '80s.
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Hamiet Bluiett, A Coltrane Interview, Natural Info. Society, Veronica Swift
by David Brown
Welcome friends and neighbors to The Jazz Continuum. Old, new, in, out... wherever the music takes us. Each week, we will explore the elements of jazz from a historical perspective. This week, let's celebrate the birth anniversary of Hamiet Bluiett; check out John Coltrane ending his time with Miles in an interview from Stockholm 1960; and finally a set of works that push the edges of the jazz genre with Natural Information Society, the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble and more. ...
read moreCharles Mingus: Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Deluxe Edition)
by Chris May
This 2-CD set takes the 1974 album Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Atlantic) and adds seventy minutes of previously unissued material recorded at the same concert. It is as worthwhile an addition to Charles Mingus' recorded legacy as 2020's previously unissued 2-CD set Charles Mingus @ Bremen 1964 & 1975 (Sunnyside). Why it has taken so long for either set to be released is anybody's guess. But at least we have them now. Mingus led many great bands ...
read moreA tribute to Hamiet Bluiett, and new releases
by Bob Osborne
A large part of this show features a tribute to the late Hamiet Bluiett, one of the pre-eminent exponents of the baritone saxophone known for his outstanding solo work and a key member of the World Saxophone Quartet. There are also a selection of new releases with some highlights from the ECM back catalogue. Playlist Stefon Harris & Blackout “Dat Dere" Sonic Creed (Motéma Music) 00:00 Benoît Delbecq, Jorrit Dijkstra, John Hollenbeck “Place" Linger (Driff Records) 06:40 ...
read moreHamiet Bluiett
by Clifford Allen
When one thinks of great baritone saxophonists, the list is relatively short: Harry Carney, Serge Chaloff, John Surman and Hamiet Bluiett are the names that come most quickly to mind. Compared to the vast number of tenor and alto players, or even the throngs of soprano-doublers, the baritone is a criminally underrepresented horn. Part of this is that it was often a bottom-end instrument in large orchestras, often relegated to a supporting role: there are far more Bruce Grants than ...
read moreHamiet Bluiett: Baritone Nation
by Larry Koenigsberg
There's an overwhelming funk groove in this recording from the 1997 Montreal International Jazz Festival. It may be a little bottom heavy, but those baritones can shriek, too, and all the players have chops to burn. With Burrage pounding out the beat, it must have been a spectacular concert. The jazz saxophone quartet, the instrumentation first borrowed from classical music for jazz by Anthony Braxton over two decades ago, is now well established. Bluiett, a founder of the World Saxophone ...
read moreHamiet Bluiett 1940 - 2018
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Hamiet Bluiett, a native of Brooklyn, IL who co-founded the World Saxophone Quartet and redefined the capabilities of the baritone sax in improvised music, died the morning of Thursday, October 4 at St. Louis University Hospital. He was 78 years old. Bluiett, whose birthday was September 16, had been gravely ill for some time, and according to a Facebook post from his daughter Anaya, was taken off respiratory support last week. As a child, Bluiett (pictured) studied piano, trumpet, and ...
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Jazz This Week: Marissa Mulder, Jazz St. Louis Benefit Gala, Hamiet Bluiett and George Sams, Roger Ingram, and More
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
It's Mardi Gras weekend in St. Louis, and though the “official" Mardi Gras events in recent years have tended to feature rock cover bands and DJs rather than jazz and blues, there will be plenty of jazz and creative music around town this week, if you know where to look. For the Funky Butt Brass Band, St. Louis' best known exponents of the New Orleans brass band sound, the next few days are the equivalent of the week before Christmas ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Hamiet Bluiett
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Hamiet Bluiett's birthday today!
The finest baritone saxophonist of the 1970s and beyond, Hamiet Bluiett has demonstrated a huge, impressive sound, superb technique, and a mastery of his horn in every register. In his solos, he can provide an array of tonal colors and harmonic options. A first-rate free player who\'s as proficient on standards as in blues, Bluiett has played in many excellent groups, has led his own bands... Read more.
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Hamiet Bluiett
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Hamiet Bluiett's birthday today!
The finest baritone saxophonist of the 1970s and beyond, Hamiet Bluiett has demonstrated a huge, impressive sound, superb technique, and a mastery of his horn in every register. In his solos, he can provide an array of tonal colors and harmonic options. A first-rate free player who\'s as proficient on standards as in blues, Bluiett has played in many excellent groups, has led his own bands... Read more.
Place our Musician ...
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STLJN Audio Archive: Hamiet Bluiett - Endangered Species
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
For this edition of the Audio Archive, we continue this weekend's focus on the great baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett by spotlighting Endangered Species, his recording debut as a leader. Originally issued in 1976 by the now-defunct India Navigation label and out of print for many years, Endangered Species has been preserved online thanks to the efforts of music sharing blogs including Free The Music, where yr. humble StLJN editor found the file. In addition to Bluiett on baritone sax and ...
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STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A Hamiet Bluiett Sampler
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week, we focus our video spotlight on baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett, who will be performing a rare local date next Wednesday June 27 at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The free outdoor concert, part of the Garden's Whitaker Music Festival, will feature Bluiett fronting an all-star band including pianist D.D. Jackson, bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake. Considered the preeminent baritone saxophonist of his generation, and one of the best in the ...
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Jazz This Week: Charlie Hunter, Hamiet Bluiett, "Cool Like That: A Tribute to Miles Davis," and More
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
It's the first official week of summer, and there are plenty of jazz-related events coming up in and around St. Louis over the next seven days. Let's go to the highlights... Tonight, the inaugural St Lou Fringe Festival opens with an evening of performances that will include the first of four stagings of Cool Like That: A Tribute to Miles Davis, an event that incorporates spoken word, music, and dance to pay tribute to the legendary trumpeter. Also tonight, there's ...
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Bluiett, Bistro Among Riverfront Times "Best of St Louis" Winners for 2011
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
The Riverfront Times' 2011 “Best of St. Louis" issue is out, and this year's winner for “Best Jazz Artist" is baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett. (Bluiett also won the BOSTL award two years ago, with pianist Peter Martin getting the trophy in 2010. ) Jazz at the Bistro once again is the winner in 2011 for “Best Jazz Club," and KWMU's Sunday night broadcast “Jazz Unlimited," hosted by Dennis Owsley, got the nod for “Best Jazz Radio Program." You can see ...
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STLJN Audio Archive: Hamiet Bluiett - S.O.S.
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week's Audio Archive entry features S.O.S., a 1977 session from the great baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett. Recorded live at an NYC performance space called Axis, S.O.S teams Bluiett with a stellar rhythm section comprised of Don Pullen on piano, Fred Hopkins on bass and Famoudou Don Moye on percussion. When originally issued as an LP on the India Navigation label, it featured a single track, “Sobre Una Nube (On a Cloud)" split between the two sides. That material was ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Hamiet Bluiett
Source:
All About Jazz is celebrating Hamiet Bluiett's birthday today!
The finest baritone saxophonist of the 1970s and beyond, Hamiet Bluiett has demonstrated a huge, impressive sound, superb technique, and a mastery of his horn in every register. In his solos, he can provide an array of tonal colors and harmonic options. A first-rate free player who\'s as proficient on standards as in blues, Bluiett has played in many excellent groups, has led his own bands...The finest baritone saxophonist of the ...
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Hamiet Bluiett
Instrument: Saxophone, baritone
Born: September 16, 1940
Died: October 4, 2018
