Hamiet Bluiett
| Hamiet Bluiett | |
|---|---|
 Oliver Lake and Hamiet Bluiett | |
| Background information | |
| Born |
September 16, 1940 Brooklyn, Illinois |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Baritone saxophone, flute, bass saxophone, E-flat alto clarinet, E-flat contra-alto clarinet |
| Years active | 1961– |
| Associated acts | World Saxophone Quartet, D.D. Jackson, Kahil El'Zabar |
| Website | http://hamietbluiett.com/ |
Hamiet Bluiett (born September 16, 1940, Brooklyn, or Lovejoy, Illinois; surname pronounced BLUE-ett) is an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. His primary instrument is the baritone saxophone, and he is considered one of the finest living players of this instrument. A member of the World Saxophone Quartet, he also plays (and records with) the bass saxophone, E-flat alto clarinet, E-flat contra-alto clarinet, and wooden flute.[1]
Biography
Bluiett was born just north of East St. Louis in Brooklyn, Illinois (also known as Lovejoy), a predominantly African-American village that had been founded as a free black refuge community in the 1830s, and which later became America's first majority-black town. As a child, he studied piano, trumpet, and clarinet, but was attracted most strongly to the baritone saxophone from the age of ten. He began his musical career by playing the clarinet for barrelhouse dances in Brooklyn, Illinois, before joining the Navy band in 1961. He attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
In his mid-twenties, Bluiett heard Harry Carney (the baritone player in the Duke Ellington band) play in a live concert in Boston, which also made a strong impression on the young Bluiett, providing an example of a baritone saxophonist who played as soloist rather than accompanist.
Following his time in the Navy, he returned to the St. Louis area in the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s Bluiett co-founded the Black Artists' Group (BAG) of St. Louis, Missouri, a collective dedicated to fostering creative work in theater, visual arts, dance, poetry, film, and music. He led the BAG big band during 1968 and 1969.
Bluiett moved to New York City in the fall of 1969, where he joined the Charles Mingus Quintet and the Sam Rivers large ensemble. In 1976 he co-founded the World Saxophone Quartet along with two other Black Artists' Group members, Julius Hemphill and Oliver Lake, as well as multi-reedist David Murray. He has remained a champion of the somewhat unwieldy baritone saxophone, organizing large groups of baritone saxophones. Since the 1990s Bluiett has led a virtuosic quartet, the Bluiett Baritone Nation, made up entirely of baritone saxophones, with drum set accompaniment.
In the 1980s, he also founded the Clarinet Family, a group of eight clarinetists playing clarinets of various sizes ranging from E-flat soprano to contrabass. Bluiett has also worked with Sam Rivers, Babatunde Olatunji, Abdullah Ibrahim, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye.
He returned to his hometown of Brooklyn, Illinois, in 2002 but moved back to New York City in 2012. He currently performs at gigs, including the New Haven Jazz Festival on August 22, 2009. He performed with students from Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, CT. The group were known as Hamiet Bluiett and the Improvisational Youth Orchestra.
Discography
As leader
- 1976: Endangered Species (India Navigation)
- 1977: Bars (Musica Records)
- 1977: Resolution (Black Saint)
- 1978: Birthright (India Navigation)
- 1979: Im/Possible to Keep (India Navigation)
- 1981: Dangerously Suite (Soul Note)
- 1984: Ebu (Soul Note)
- 1987: The Clarinet Family (Black Saint)
- 1991: If You Have To Ask You Don't Need To Know (Tutu)
- 1993: Nali Kola (Soul Note)
- 1993: Sankofa / Rear Garde (Soul Note)
- 1996: Bluiett's Barbecue Band (Mapleshade Records)
- 1997: Ballads and Blues: Live at the Village Vanguard (Soul Note)
- 1997: Makin' Whoopee: Tribute to the King Cole Trio (Mapleshade Records)
- 1998: Bluiett Baritone Saxophone Group Live at the Knitting Factory (Knitting Factory)
- 1998: Bluiett Baritone Nation: Libation for the Baritone Saxophone Nation (Justin Time)
- 1999: Join Us (Justin Time) (with D. D. Jackson and Mor Thiam)
- 2000: With Eyes Wide Open (Justin Time)
- 2001: The Calling with D. D. Jackson and Kahil El'Zabar
- 2002: Blueblack
With the World Saxophone Quartet
| Title | Year | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point of No Return | 1977 | Moers Music | ||
| Steppin' with the World Saxophone Quartet | 1979 | Black Saint | ||
| W.S.Q. | 1981 | Black Saint | ||
| Revue | 1982 | Black Saint | ||
| Live in Zurich | 1984 | Black Saint | ||
| Live at Brooklyn Academy of Music | 1986 | Black Saint | ||
| Plays Duke Ellington | 1986 | Elektra / Nonesuch | ||
| Dances and Ballads | 1987 | Elektra / Nonesuch | ||
| Rhythm and Blues | 1989 | Elektra / Nonesuch | ||
| Metamorphosis | 1991 | Elektra / Nonesuch | ||
| Moving Right Along | 1993 | Black Saint | ||
| Breath of Life | 1994 | Elektra / Nonesuch | ||
| Four Now | 1996 | Justin Time | ||
| Takin' It 2 the Next Level | 1996 | Justin Time | ||
| Selim Sivad: a Tribute to Miles Davis | 1998 | Justin Time | ||
| Requiem for Julius | 2000 | Justin Time | ||
| 25th Anniversary: The New Chapter | 2001 | Justin Time | ||
| Steppenwolf | 2002 | Justin Time | ||
| Experience | 2004 | Justin Time | ||
| Political Blues | 2006 | Justin Time | ||
| Yes We Can[2] | 2010 | Jazzwerkstatt |
As sideman
With The 360 Degree Music Experience
- In: Sanity (Black Saint, 1976)
With Anthony Braxton
- New York, Fall 1974 (Arista, 1974)
With James Carter
- Conversin' with the Elders (Atlantic, 1996)
With Gil Evans
- Live at the Public Theater (New York 1980) (Trio, 1981)
- Farewell (Evidence, 1986 [1988])
With Craig Harris
- F-Stops (Soul Note, 1993)
With the Music Revelation Ensemble
- In the Name of... (DIW, 1994)
- Knights of Power (DIW, 1996)
With David Murray
- Now Is Another Time (Justin Time, 2003)
References
External links
- "A Fireside Chat With Hamiet Bluiett" by Fred Jung, from Jazz Weekly site
- Audio Recordings of WCUW Jazz Festivals - Jazz History Database
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