HPPAA-SPONSORED WEEKLY PROGRAM · LIVE JAZZ + PUBLIC HISTORY
Hank Hehmsoth Trio
at Nica on 4th
Texas jazz history is heard live each Wednesday through music by Texas artists, the world of Baroness Pannonica “Nica” de Koenigswarter, and original compositions by pianist-composer Hank Hehmsoth.
- Wednesdays
- 6:30–9:30 PM
- Downtown Austin
- 21+ venue
A LIVING HISTORY PROGRAM
The story is inside the music.
HPPAA sponsors an ongoing weekly program where live performance, Texas jazz history, original music, and conversation meet in the room.
Each Wednesday, the Hank Hehmsoth Trio performs a changing repertoire of modern jazz, music by Texas artists, compositions associated with the extraordinary circle around Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, and original music by Hank Hehmsoth.
Between selections, pianist, composer, and jazz historian Hank Hehmsoth shares brief stories that illuminate the people behind the music—from Texas innovators such as Eddie Durham and Kenny Dorham to the artists, friendships, and dedications connected with Nica.
This is public history in a live setting: concise enough to belong naturally inside a performance, but grounded in the research, artist practice, education, and cultural-documentation work at the heart of H Project Performing Arts Association.
WHAT HAPPENS EACH WEEK
Three strands, one living repertoire.
The program changes from week to week. The through-line remains the same: live jazz becomes a way to encounter artists, histories, relationships, and new work that continue to shape the music.
Hank Hehmsoth Trio
Weekly live jazz led by pianist-composer Hank Hehmsoth with bassist Utah Hamrick and drummer Nic Chacón, plus occasional guest or alternate personnel.
Texas jazz history
Short introductions connect repertoire with Texas-born artists, composers, arrangers, and musical lineages.
Nica + original music
Dedications associated with Pannonica share the program with original Hank Hehmsoth compositions, connecting history with continuing creative work.
WEDNESDAY RESIDENCY · THE TRIO
The history lives on the bandstand.
Hank Hehmsoth, Utah Hamrick, and Nic Chacón bring HPPAA’s jazz-history work into a weekly live setting—pairing the stories behind the repertoire with the experience of hearing that music performed in the room.
Performance photographs courtesy of Nica on 4th.
THE BARONESS OF JAZZ
A life that changed the music.
Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter—known as Nica—was a patron, confidante, and determined advocate for many of the musicians who shaped modern jazz. Her friendships with Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and others placed her close to one of the most transformative periods in twentieth-century music.
Her legacy is audible. Composers across several generations wrote pieces for her, about her, or in gratitude for the refuge and support she provided. The weekly HPPAA program returns those musical dedications to a living performance context.
MUSIC · IMAGERY · NARRATIVE · CULTURAL MEMORYRESEARCH BEHIND THE PROGRAM
Two histories carried into the room.
Hank Hehmsoth’s published research provides a deeper path into two recurring subjects heard in the weekly program: Nica’s place in modern jazz and Eddie Durham’s foundational role in Texas and American music.
ALL ABOUT JAZZ · THE JAZZ FILES
Songs for Nica: How Jazz Fell in Love with a Baroness
A verified chronology of compositions written for or connected with Pannonica—turning a network of friendships and dedications into a repertoire listeners can follow.
Read the Nica article ↗ALL ABOUT JAZZ · UNDER THE RADAR
Eddie Durham: The Jazz Innovator a City Refuses to Forget
The story of the San Marcos-born arranger, composer, trombonist, and electric-guitar pioneer whose innovations helped shape the sound of swing.
Read the Eddie Durham article ↗A REPERTOIRE OF DEDICATIONS
Her name became part of the music.
These works form a remarkable portrait in sound: ballads, blues, and hard-bop compositions connected by one listener, advocate, and friend. Selections from this repertoire enter the weekly program alongside music by Texas jazz artists including Eddie Durham and Kenny Dorham, and original compositions by Hank Hehmsoth.
- 01Nica’s DreamHorace Silver · 1955
- 02Nica’s TempoGigi Gryce · 1955
- 03PannonicaThelonious Monk · 1956
- 04Blues for NicaKenny Drew · 1956
- 05Nica Steps OutFreddie Redd · 1957
- 06TonicaKenny Dorham · 1960
- 07NicaSonny Clark · 1960
- 08ThelonicaTommy Flanagan · 1982
ORIGINAL MUSIC · LIVING REPERTOIRE
Hank Hehmsoth: history continuing through new work.
The Nica on 4th program does not stop at historical repertoire. It also places original music by Hank Hehmsoth inside the same living continuum.
Hehmsoth is the pianist and leader of the Hank Hehmsoth Trio and the founder and president of H Project Performing Arts Association. His work as a composer, performer, researcher, and educator gives the weekly series a direct connection between documented jazz history and contemporary artist practice.
Original compositions heard in HPPAA programs are also part of Hehmsoth’s recorded catalog, allowing listeners to move from the live room to the recordings and back again. Apple Music maintains separate artist pages for Hank Hehmsoth and the Hank Hehmsoth Trio, reflecting both the composer-pianist’s catalog and the ensemble heard in this weekly HPPAA-sponsored series.
ORAL HISTORY
A remembrance of Nica.
Jazz historian Dan Morgenstern reflects on Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter in this short film produced by Hank Hehmsoth.
The Hank Hehmsoth Trio
The current trio features pianist-composer Hank Hehmsoth, founder and artistic director of HPPAA, with bassist Utah Hamrick and drummer Nic Chacón. Guest or alternate musicians may appear on selected Wednesdays, but this trio anchors the weekly residency and its connection between live performance, original music, and jazz history.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Nica on 4th
In downtown Austin, the venue’s postwar-inspired setting pays homage to Pannonica while keeping live jazz at the center of the room.
Suite 101A
Austin, TX 78701
6:30–9:30 PM
21+ only. Reservations are recommended; walk-ins are accepted. Nica currently lists a $10 entertainment fee per guest from 6 PM to midnight.
Please confirm the current program schedule, lineup, venue policy, and entertainment fee with Nica on 4th before traveling.
PERFORMANCE AS PUBLIC HISTORY
A weekly program. A growing cultural record.
HPPAA connects research, artist practice, recorded work, and living performance—bringing Texas jazz stories and new music to audiences where the music is already happening.