A long Austin collaboration

Hehmsoth and Mills began working together in Austin decades ago, performing regularly in the city’s jazz scene. Archival materials from the early 1980s show them appearing frequently at the Buffalo Grille, part of a period when Austin jazz was developing its own community identity and performance culture.

Live Music Capital of the World

In 1995, John Mills and Hank Hehmsoth performed live at the Austin City Council Chambers as part of Austin’s designation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The restored video documents an important moment in Austin’s jazz history and shows the long continuity of their work together.

Video:
30 Years of Austin Jazz: John Mills & Hank Hehmsoth Live at Austin City Council (1995)

Composers, arrangers, and collaborators

Both Hehmsoth and Mills are active composers and arrangers. Their writing includes jazz ensemble works, chamber-influenced music, film and media work, and original arrangements for Double Vision Jazz Ensemble.

Double Vision provides a creative platform for their shared compositional voice. The ensemble combines jazz improvisation, contemporary arranging, Texas music history, and interdisciplinary ideas. Their programs often include original works, newly arranged material, spoken context, and collaborations with guest artists.

Current work: Double Vision + Invoke

In 2026, Double Vision is collaborating with Invoke in a sponsored AACME Elevate event at Monks Jazz in Austin. Hehmsoth and Mills are writing and arranging music for Double Vision with Invoke, extending their jazz language into a chamber setting with one of Austin’s leading string quartets.

Double Vision + Invoke at Monks:
https://hanksjazz.com/double-vision-invoke-monks-2026-10-14

Double Vision today

Today, Hehmsoth and Mills continue to build Double Vision as a vehicle for original music, Texas jazz history, interdisciplinary performance, and public engagement. Their work connects Austin’s jazz past with new creative possibilities for museums, universities, libraries, arts organizations, and concert presenters.

Double Vision Jazz Ensemble is listed on the Texas Commission on the Arts 2026–2028 Texas Touring Roster. Eligible Texas presenters may be able to apply for TCA Arts Respond Performance Support for qualifying public programs.