Hehmsoth Press Archive
This archive documents press, reviews, interviews, and media coverage related to Blu-Escape, Double Vision Jazz Ensemble, Brazosport Residency, Jazz Research, Recordings, Art Series, Fulbright Chile, and Interdisciplinary Installations.
A searchable, chronological index of news releases & features. Click a year to expand.
2026
Kenny Dorham: The Composer in the Horn - A Verified Chronology, 1953–1964
A chronological, first-recording-date discography of Kenny Dorham originals (1953–1964), framed as a compositional evolution from bebop craft through Afro-Cuban design into post-bop clarity.
Hank Hehmsoth Workshop: “Find the Zone — Art & Sound Without Scrolling Past”
Local event listing covering Hank Hehmsoth’s interdisciplinary workshop exploring creative focus, improvisation, and the intersection of visual art and sound at Brazosport College.
Hank Hehmsoth to bring immersive art, jazz residency to Brazosport College
News feature announcing Hehmsoth’s week-long Brazosport College residency blending live jazz performance, visual art, and educational programming for students and the community.
Rising Star Hank Hehmsoth: Five Things You Need To Shine in the Music Industry
Long-form interview with Diane Strand on career building, artistry, and the habits that support sustainable creative work.
Double Vision to bring immersive jazz experience to The Clarion
Feature preview of Double Vision’s immersive performance experience at The Clarion, connecting live jazz, storytelling, and interdisciplinary presentation.
2025
TXST’s Hehmsoth receives Aaron Copland Fund for Music award
Announcement of Hehmsoth’s 2025 Aaron Copland Fund for Music Award, recognizing his innovative jazz compositions and contributions to the contemporary music landscape.
Interview with Hank Hehmsoth — Bored City
In this Q&A, Hehmsoth reflects on his musical upbringing, the inspiration behind “Sax Solo” (selected for The Big Show 2025), and how improvisation bridges his work in both jazz and visual art.
Community Art Gallery opens at City Hall
News coverage of the opening of the Community Art Gallery at San Marcos City Hall, featuring work by regional artists including jazz pianist and visual artist Hank Hehmsoth.
Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Hank Hehmsoth
Feature profile from VoyageAustin’s “Highlighting Local Gems” series, covering Hehmsoth’s creative process, mentors, artistic philosophy, and legacy.
Blu-Escape — Review (L.A. Jazz Scene)
Review highlights Blu-Escape’s nine originals, the quartet with John Mills, Utah Hamrick, and Aaron Easley, and the album’s connection to Hehmsoth’s abstract paintings.
Durham jazz fest to host top performers and Hehmsoth art exhibit
Feature preview of the Eddie Durham Jazz Festival highlighting top performers and Hank Hehmsoth’s art exhibit, with coverage connecting his work in jazz and visual art.
Jazz legend, TXST Professor of Practice has exhibit at Walkers’ Gallery
Profile feature on Hehmsoth’s dual career as jazz musician and visual artist, highlighting his Walkers’ Gallery exhibits, promotion to Professor of Practice at TXST, and ongoing work blending improvisation with visual art.
KZSM 104.1 FM — “It’s What’s New” Radio Feature
KZSM’s program It’s What’s New featured three Hank Hehmsoth recordings: “The Way Up (Remastered),” “Blu-Escape,” and “Cabo,” highlighting recent releases and the legacy of longtime trio collaborators Spencer Starnes and Scott Laningham.
The Visual Language of Jazz
Photo-feature exploring the relationship between improvisation and abstract visual work—how jazz thinking becomes a visual language.
The History of Jazz Drums: An Archival Treasure Rediscovered
Feature on an archival radio series with Mel Lewis and Loren Schoenberg—preserved, reorganized, and made newly accessible for listeners and scholars.
Unearthed & Unforgettable: The Lost Tapes of Just Jazz
A deep dive into rediscovered Just Jazz performance tapes—context, significance, and why archival recovery matters.
Charles Rangel: Harlem’s Congressman, Jazz’s Quiet Witness
Cultural history feature connecting Harlem’s political legacy with jazz’s lived ecosystem and community memory.
Eddie Durham: The Jazz Innovator a City Refuses to Forget
Feature on Eddie Durham’s legacy, San Marcos’ preservation efforts, and the cultural arc connecting innovation, place, and memory.
Songs for Nica: How Jazz Fell in Love with a Baroness
The story of Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter’s profound impact on jazz—told through dedications, compositions, and community.
Award-winning jazz group, Double Vision, headline Supple Music Series
Announcement of Double Vision, co-led by Hank Hehmsoth and John Mills, headlining TXST’s Supple Music Series on March 31, 2025.
Jazz collaboration at Cephas House to pair poet, piano professor
Preview feature on Jazz & Poetry at Historic Cephas House — pairing poet Jacqueline Miller with Hank Hehmsoth in an interactive, improvisation-forward collaboration rooted in the Beat-era jazz/poetry tradition.
Associate professor reflects on songs featured in compilation albums
Feature story in The University Star highlighting Hehmsoth’s nine tracks placed on twelve international compilations, and how the experience reshaped his views on music’s role, distribution, and connection with audiences.
2024
TXST jazz pianist Hank Hehmsoth releases his 5th album, ‘Blu-Escape’
Announcement of Blu-Escape, recorded at TXST Fire Station Studios with Double Vision and mastered at Abbey Road.
‘Blu-Escape’ album premieres at SXSW 2024
World premiere of Hank Hehmsoth’s fifth album Blu-Escape at SXSW 2024 in Austin, Texas — showcasing Double Vision’s nine original works and their companion artwork series.
Exclusive Interview: Hank Hehmsoth on ‘Blu-Escape’
In this exclusive feature, Hank Hehmsoth talks about the inspirations behind Blu-Escape, his creative process, and the fusion of jazz and visual art.
Hank Hehmsoth’s ‘Mirror Mirror’ selected for Good Mood Café: Instrumental Blend Vol. 1
Press release announcing “Mirror Mirror” on Compigram’s international compilation.
Compilations October 2024
Overview of nine international compilations featuring seven of Hehmsoth’s compositions.
TXST’s Hehmsoth received Aaron Copland Fund for Music Award
Recognition from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music supporting Double Vision’s new works and education initiatives.
2023
Hehmsoth garners 2024 ASCAP Plus Award for work as composer
Recognition of Hehmsoth’s composition portfolio with Double Vision, including works from Blu-Escape.
2022
Texas State's Hehmsoth uncovers audio trove of jazz history
Release of rare archives: Miles Davis interview (1986), 32-part History of Jazz Drums, and 205-episode Jerry Goldsmith retrospective.
Hank Hehmsoth discusses Christopher Cross, music education, jazz research on Big Ideas TXST
Podcast feature: Christopher Cross, pedagogy, and ongoing jazz research.
Texas State’s Hehmsoth uncovers audio trove of jazz history
Independent media coverage of Hehmsoth’s archival research and discovery of historically significant jazz recordings, including rare interviews and broadcast materials from the Dan Morgenstern Collection.
My Journey into Compilations
How “The Way Up” sparked international compilation placements and new audiences.
2021
We Are the Music Makers — Texas State Stories
Feature profile on Hehmsoth’s jazz research and teaching, including the NEA-supported Dan Morgenstern Collection and rediscovered Just Jazz TV archives.
2020
Lost for 50 years, rare “Just Jazz” performances rediscovered
Rediscovered WTTW 1970 broadcasts include Gene Ammons’ only TV appearance and Dexter Gordon’s last televised performance.
Austin Jazz Legends: John Mills & Hank Hehmsoth in Conversation
John Mills and Hank Hehmsoth reflect on 50 years of playing jazz in Austin, TX, sharing memories, collaborations, and the evolution of the scene.
Texas State's Hehmsoth releases quarantine video “Basement Panorama”
Remote, all-iPhone performance by John Mills Times Ten; edited and performed by Hehmsoth during lockdown.
2019
Hehmsoth named Berger-Carter-Berger Jazz Research Fellow by Institute of Jazz Studies
Rutgers IJS recognizes Hehmsoth’s work on the Dan Morgenstern Collection and NEA ArtWorks research.
Blu-ray release brings new attention to Hehmsoth film score from 1991
AGFA’s special edition of Scary Movie sparks renewed critical praise for Hehmsoth’s original score.
2018
Review: San Antonio Symphony shows musical footwork in “La La Land”
Reviewing the San Antonio Symphony’s live performance of La La Land in Concert at the Majestic Theatre, critic David Hendricks highlighted the orchestra’s synchronization with the film and praised the production’s musical execution. Pianist Hank Hehmsoth was singled out for his “sparkling keyboard work,” performing the on-screen piano role live with the orchestra under conductor Erik Ochsner.
Hank Hehmsoth awarded NEA Art:Works Grant for Dan Morgenstern Project
The $25,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant supported “Reminiscences of NEA Jazz Master Dan Morgenstern,” featuring interviews at the Harlem National Jazz Museum with leading jazz scholars and Morgenstern himself. Recordings were archived for public and educational use. This was Hehmsoth’s second NEA grant, following his first in 1979.
2016
School of Music’s Hehmsoth awarded Fulbright to teach jazz in Chile
Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant to Santiago, Chile: master classes, arranging/composition, festival performances.
2012
Hehmsoth debuts two new compositions in April performances
Premieres of Freedom STOMP (Mysterium for New Music) and Carlos ’n Charlie’s (Inside Out Steelband Festival).
Hehmsoth named MacDowell Colony Norton Stevens Fellow for 2012
National recognition honoring Hehmsoth’s contributions to contemporary composition.
School of Music's Hehmsoth named Fulbright Specialist
Fulbright Specialist designation in composition and jazz improvisation; projects with Projazz in Santiago, Chile.
Hehmsoth receives New Music USA Composer Assistance Grant
Recognition of Hehmsoth’s composition Carlos ’n Charlie’s, supported by a New Music USA Composer Assistance Program grant and premiered at the Inside Out Steelband Festival.
2010
Texas State jazz artist takes first in composition competition
NACUSA Texas Composition Competition winner for X-trusions — a déjà vu in 4D.
1981
Christopher Cross
Washington Post concert review noting the addition of percussionist James Fenner and reed player Hank Hehmsoth, whose presence gave Christopher Cross’s touring band a more textured live sound.