*** Julius Hemphill/Warren Smith

CHILE NEW YORK

(Black Saint)

It's taken 18 years for the music on this disc to surface. Saxophonist/composer Hemphill tried to release it during his lifetime, and you can see why he failed -- it's some of the most harrowing and abstract music he ever recorded. A woodwinds-percussion "sound environment" by Hemphill and Warren Smith, this composition was an integral part of an installation of ceramic faces by sculptor Jeff Schlanger in the echoing City University Graduate Center Mall on 42nd Street. The installation was inspired by accounts of the political terrors in Chile under the Pinochet regime -- it seemed to ask passers-by what the proper reaction should be to the sufferings of people thousands of miles away.

In keeping with that spirit, the music was recorded with a muffled fidelity, but its anguish is inescapable. Hemphill evokes stark terror, smoldering anger, righteous fire, compassion, spiritual serenity, and ironic disdain in his response to human suffering. Three of the seven duets clock in at around 20 minutes and on first impression may seem to wander. But Hemphill's every note is drenched in feeling, and Smith's largely atmospheric percussion -- timpani, gongs, and vibes -- always creates the appropriate backdrop. It's not an easy listen, but there's plenty to hear.

-- Ed Hazell