DOUBLE VISION
- Hank Helmsoth - Piano
- John Mills - Saxophone
- Aaron Easley - Drums
- Liam O'Dell - Bass
About Double Vision
Double Vision is the long-running collaboration between pianist/composer Hank Hehmsoth and saxophonist/composer John Mills—a quartet known for its modern sound, deep groove, and adventurous improvisation. After more than 50 years of performing together, Hank and John have developed a rare onstage chemistry: lyrical piano, powerful saxophone lines, with a rhythm section that drives with both subtlety and fire.
Supported by the H Project Performing Arts Association (HPPAA) and recent grant funding, Double Vision continues to blend tradition with innovation, presenting original works. Their performances are energetic, sophisticated, and always rooted in the joy of musical conversation.
"Great chemistry on stage, strong solos, and a tight rhythm section… thoughtful but never too heavy — lots of groove. The crowd felt it too."
— James, Austin, TX
BIOs
Hank Hehmsoth is a renowned jazz pianist known for his lyrical improvisation, harmonic depth, and cinematic compositions. His music bridges jazz tradition and innovation, shaped by decades of international performance, composing, and teaching.
He has performed worldwide—from the Hollywood Bowl and Radio City Music Hall to Japan’s Nippon Budokan—and across the U.S. at Red Rocks, Boston Common, and Austin’s top venues including Parker Jazz Club and The Elephant Room. A former sideman with Christopher Cross, Hank’s work includes the iconic “Sailing” intro and a featured solo in the Academy Award-winning song from Arthur.
As a recording artist, Hank has released ve albums on his label Time Space Fabrics, with tracks featured on 16 jazz compilations globally. He’s appeared with artists like Joe Henderson, Bob Mintzer, Randy Brecker, and the Austin Symphony Orchestra, and on national TV with Solid Gold and The Midnight Special. His artistry extends to jazz scholarship, visual art, and music research, always guided by deep listening, curiosity, and a passion for storytelling through sound.
Dr. John Mills
Dr. John Mills is a saxophonist and composer / arranger based in Austin, Texas who works in a wide range of concert and recording projects within the jazz idiom and beyond. He has enjoyed the opportunity to perform with such internationally prominent jazz artists as Steve Swallow, Carla Bley, Kenny Wheeler, Maria Schneider and Diane Schuur during his career. John currently leads the high-energy, ten-piece jazz fusion ensemble John Mills TIMES TEN which exclusively features his compositions. He has released two CDs of that group on Fable Records, Caffeine Dreams and Flying Blind, as well as Invisible Designs – a collection of his original songs featuring jazz vocalist Carmen Bradford.
Outside of the jazz realm, Mills has worked on stage or in the recording studio with such R&B stars a Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John, Buddy Guy and Aretha Franklin, as well as pop artists Paul Simon, James Taylor, David Byrne, Los Lobos and Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead), and Texas icons including Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, Lyle Lovett, Jimmie Vaughan and Willie Nelson.
Dr. Mills has composed numerous orchestral and classical chamber works including string quartets that have reached the finals in three of the last four International Golden Hornet
competitions. His orchestral arrangements for popular artists including Asleep at the Wheel, David Byrne, Rosanne Cash, Arto Lindsay and Indigo Girls have been performed by symphonies across the U.S. and abroad.
During his nearly 50 years in the Austin music scene, John has recorded on over 200 albums and appeared on nine episodes of the Austin City Limits PBS TV series, writing the opening theme for some of the shows’ early seasons. He has been a central member of some of Austin’s most notable jazz groups during this period, including Starcrost, Beto y los Fairlanes, Dan Del Santo’s World Beat, Minor Miracle, Tina Marsh’s CO2, and Captain Kirk and the Devil Horns.
Mills has composed extensively for both professional and university jazz ensembles including a number of works published by Walrus Music. His Round and Round the Sun won the 2019 SONIC Award for Best Big Band Composition from the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC) and he was awarded First Prize at the 2008 ArtEZ International Jazz Composition Contest in the Netherlands for If Memory Serves. In 2009, he collaborated with fellow UT Professor Jeff Hellmer to score the first full orchestration of Duke Ellington’s unfinished folk opera, Queenie Pie.
Dr. Mills has presented jazz master classes at institutions around the world, including Royal Danish Academy in Aarhus, Denmark; the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia; the University of Greifswald, Germany; Pro-Jazz Institute in Santiago, Chile; Instituto Guatamatelco (Guatemala); Conservatorio di Perugia, Italy and the Butler School of Music where he teaches jazz saxophone, composition, arranging and history.
Website: hanksjazz.com/DoubleVision
FB: facebook.com/DoubleVisionJazz
IG: instagram.com/doublevisionjazz