Album artwork by Steve Byram. Double printed letterpress cardboard CD sleeve that contains original Julius Hemphill liner notes printed on accordion cover / protection for 2 CDs. CDs come in additional individual paper/plastic sleeves. Includes a heavy weight card printed with Tim Berne's liner notes, photos and Screwgun Records information.
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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
As a friend and student of Julius Hemphill, I was fortunate enough to have been present at the recording of Blue Boyé back in 1977. It was winter, both outside and inside the basement studio (I use the word 'studio' loosely) where this session took place. I remember Julius keeping his overcoat on and recording the tracks in one take, virtually in real time-perhaps in deference to the room temperature, but more likely due to his complete confidence in the results. Due to the absence of the original tapes, the CD was mastered directly from vinyl copies. This process clearly has its occasionally audible limitations but also seems to reflect the atmosphere and conditions under which this album was originally recorded. The sometimes "nostalgic" sound quality will not distract anyone whose primary interest is the music. In my experience with Julius, he never really had much patience with the inner workings of the so-called music industry. His earliest records, including this one, were made for his own Mbari label. My involvement with this project served as my apprenticeship in the independent label business, and certainly had a major impact on my decision to start my own company. Years later, I'm honored to be able to make Blue Boyé available again. There is not much I can add to Julius' poignant liner notes, except that this music offers a rare glimpse into the extraordinary mind of someone who is sorely missed. Tim Berne, Brooklyn NY 1998
credits
released September 7, 1998
Julius Hemphill: Alto and soprano saxophones, flute and percussion. Originally released on Mbari in 1977.
Recorded January 1997 at Larchmont, NY. Engineer: Joe Boerst. Remastered by Doug Pomeroy, August 1998. Producer Julius Hemphill, assistant producer: Tim Berne. Original cover design: Betsy Berne. Original cover drawing: Oliver Lee Jackson. All compositions by Julius Hemphill Good Boyé Music ASCAP
Listening to this again today and it's terrific. This is different from most solo saxophone albums in a good way. Great melodic lines played with Tim's unique dark alto sound. Really like the track Curls. torzano