Hemingway, Gerry

Hemingway, Gerry, jazz percussionist, composer; b. New Haven, Conn., March 23, 1955. Between 1972-79 he made a living primarily as a jazz drummer and percussionist, but also worked in electronic music, chamber ensembles, theater, experimental film, and world music. In New Haven he became associated with George Lewis, Robert Dick, David Mott, and in particular Anthony Davis and Leo Smith, who inspired his development as a composer and improvisor. In 1976 he founded the Creative Musicians Improvisors Forum with Smith and Bobby Naughton, a non-profit organization that produced numerous large ensemble performances and recordings. In the fall of 1979 he moved to N.Y. and began performing as a solo artist. During the 1980s he began working with digital sampling, computers, and MIDI triggering. During the later 1980s and 1990s, he toured the U.S. and Europe with a quintet of baritone saxophone, trombone, cello, bass, drums/steel drums. He was a member of The Anthony Braxton Quartet (1983–95), and is an ongoing member of the Reggie Workman Ensemble, Anthony Davis’s Episteme, BassDrumBone, a collective trio (with Georg Grawe and Ernst Reijseger), Tambastics (with Robert Dick, Denman Maroney, and Mark Dresser), and The Iliad Quartet. He also performs in duo with Marilyn Crispell and saxophonist/live electronics player Earl Howard. As a composer, Hemingway has received numerous commissions for works for tape and live performance. In January 1995 he presented works from 1988-94 at Merkin Hall in N.Y. His multimedia work includes Waterways, for multiple slide projectors, tape and percussion, as well as an ongoing collaboration with video artist/animator Beth Warshafsky.

Discography

Kwambe (1978); Solo Works (1981); Tubworks (1983); Outerbridge Crossing (1985); Special Detail (1989); Down to the Wire (1991); Demon Chaser (1993); The Marmalade King (1994); Acoustic Solo Works (1983–94); Electro-Acoustic Solo Works (1984–95); Perfect World (1996); Waltzes, Two Steps and other Matters of the Heart (1996) Terrains (1997); Slamadam (live recordings from three different tours; 1999).

—Lewis Porter