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{{Short description|American composer, saxophonist and flautist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Henry Threadgill
| name = Henry Threadgill
| image =
| image = Henry Threadgill1.jpg
| caption = Henry Threadgill at Keystone Korner, San Francisco CA 4/5/79 w/AIR, including Fred Hopkins & Steve McCall
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name = Henry Luther Threadgill
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| alias =
| birth_name = Henry Luther Threadgill
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|2|15}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1944|2|15}}
| death_date =
| birth_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
| origin = Chicago, Illinois, US
| genre = [[Jazz]], [[avant-garde jazz]], [[free jazz]]
| instrument = [[Alto saxophone]], [[flute]]
| occupation = Musician, composer
| genre = [[Jazz]], [[avant-garde jazz]]
| instrument = Saxophone, flute
| years_active = 1960s–present
| occupation = Musician, bandleader, composer, [[sideman]]
| label = [[Arista Records|Arista]]/[[Novus Records|Novus]], About Time, [[Black Saint/Soul Note|Black Saint]], [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[Pi Recordings|Pi]]
| years_active = 1960s–present
| associated_acts= [[Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians|AACM]], [[Air (jazz group)|Air]], [[Muhal Richard Abrams]], [[Billy Bang]], [[Anthony Braxton]], [[Craig S. Harris (trombonist)|Craig Harris]], [[Leroy Jenkins (jazz musician)|Leroy Jenkins]], [[Roscoe Mitchell]]
| label = [[Arista Records|Arista]]/[[Novus Records|Novus]], [[About Time Records|About Time]], [[Black Saint/Soul Note|Black Saint]], [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[Pi Recordings]]
| website = {{URL|www.henrythreadgill.com}}
| associated_acts = [[Air (jazz group)|Air]], [[Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians|AACM]], [[Muhal Richard Abrams]], [[Billy Bang]], [[Anthony Braxton]], [[Craig S. Harris (trombonist)|Craig Harris]], [[Leroy Jenkins (jazz musician)|Leroy Jenkins]], [[Roscoe Mitchell]]
| website =
| current_members =
| past_members =
| notable_instruments = [[Alto Saxophone]]
}}
}}


'''Henry Threadgill''' (born February 15, 1944)<ref name="LarkinJazz">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-580-8|page=396}}</ref> is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist.<ref>{{cite web|author=Chris Kelsey |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/henry-threadgill-mn0000673638/biography |title=Henry Threadgill &#124; Biography & History |website=[[AllMusic]] |date=February 15, 1944 |access-date=November 21, 2016}}</ref> He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in [[jazz]] but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He has performed and recorded with several ensembles: [[Air (jazz group)|Air]], Aggregation Orb, Make a Move, the seven-piece Henry Threadgill <!-- Please do not modify this spelling. -->Sextett<!-- Please do not modify this spelling. -->, the twenty-piece Society Situation Dance Band, Very Very Circus, X-75, and Zooid.
'''Henry Threadgill''' (born February 15, 1944) is a Pulitzer Prize winning American composer, saxophonist and [[flautist]],<ref>[{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p131791/biography|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic]</ref> who came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres. He studied at the [[American Conservatory of Music]] in Chicago co-majoring in piano and flute, along with composition. He studied piano with Gail Quillman and composition with Stella Roberts (1899-1988). He has had a music career for over forty years as both a leader and as a composer. He was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his composition ''In for a Penny, In for a Pound'', <ref>{{cite news|last1=Chinen|first1=Nate|title=At Last, a Box Henry Threadgill Fits Nicely Into: Pulitzer Winner|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/arts/music/henry-threadgill-pulitzer-prize-penny-pound.html?_r=0|accessdate=19 April 2016|work=The New York Times|date=18 April 2016}}</ref>which premiered at [[Roulette Intermedium]] on December 4, 2014 <ref>{{cite web| url = http://roulette.org/events/henry-threadgill/| title = Henry Threadgill’s Zooid performs the Quintet Book—“In for a Penny, In for a Pound”}}(retrieved May 2, 2016)</ref>


He was awarded the 2016 [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]] for his album ''[[In for a Penny, In for a Pound]]'',<ref name="Chinen">{{cite news|last1=Chinen|first1=Nate|title=At Last, a Box Henry Threadgill Fits Nicely Into: Pulitzer Winner|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/arts/music/henry-threadgill-pulitzer-prize-penny-pound.html?_r=0|access-date=April 19, 2016|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 18, 2016}}</ref> which premiered at [[Roulette Intermedium]] on December 4, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://roulette.org/events/henry-threadgill/ |title=Henry Threadgill – Roulette |website=Roulette.org |date=July 22, 2014 |access-date=November 21, 2016}}</ref>
Threadgill's music has been performed by many of his long-lasting instrumental ensembles, including the trio [[Air (jazz group)|Air]] with [[Fred Hopkins]] and [[Steve McCall (drummer)|Steve McCall]], the seven-piece Sextet, Very Very Circus, the twenty-piece Society Situation Dance Band, X-75, Make a Move, Aggregation Orb, and his current group Zooid. He has recorded many critically acclaimed albums as a leader of these ensembles with various record labels namely [[Arista Records|Arista]]/[[Novus Records|Novus]], About Time, [[Axiom (record label)|Axiom]], [[Black Saint/Soul Note|Black Saint]], [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] and [[Pi Recordings]].


In 2023, he published his autobiography, written with [[Brent Hayes Edwards]]: ''Easily Slip into Another World: A Life in Music.''<ref>{{cite web| url = https://thebluemoment.com/2023/08/04/summer-books-1-henry-threadgill/| title = Summer books 1: Henry Threadgill| author = Williams, Richard| date = August 4, 2023| access-date = August 5, 2023| website = the blue moment}}</ref> The book was a ''New York Times'' Notable Book of the Year, along with being a Best Book of the Year: ''The New York Times, NPR, The New Yorker''.
Threadgill has had numerous commissions and awards throughout. He has composed music for theatre, orchestra, solo instruments, and [[chamber ensemble]]s. His works for large orchestras, such as "Run Silent, Run Deep, Run Loud, Run High" (conducted by [[Hale Smith]]) and "Mix for Orchestra" (conducted by [[Dennis Russell Davies]]), were both premiered at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] in 1987 and 1993 respectively. He has had commissions from Mordine & Company in 1971 and 1989, from [[Carnegie Hall]] for "Quintet for Strings and Woodwinds" in 1983 and 1985, the [[New York Shakespeare Festival]] in 1985, [[Bang on a Can All-Stars]] in 1995, "Peroxide" commissioned by the [[Miller Theatre]] [[Columbia University]] in 2003 for "Aggregation Orb", a commission from the Talujon Percussion Ensemble in 2008, a piece "Fly Fliegen Volar" commissioned and premiered at the [[Saalfelden]] Jazz Festival with the Junge Philharmonie [[Salzburg]] Orchestra in 2007, a premier of the piece "Mc Guffins" with Zooid at the Biennale Festival in Italy in 2004 to name some.


==Career==
Threadgill, aside from being a remarkable alto saxophone player, is one of the most imaginative of jazz composers today. "He seems to be deliberately challenging the audience: My lyricism and mastery come complete with thorns and spikes, and I promise to yank the props out from under you,” quoted John Litweiler, longtime ''[[Down Beat Magazine|Down Beat]]'' jazz critic, in an article he wrote for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''. Threadgill was one of the founding members of the [[Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians]] (AACM), a Chicago group that was free-form, you might say, in its philosophy and approach. Peter Watrous of the ''[[New York Times]]'' described Threadgill as "perhaps the most important jazz composer of his generation." Recent concerts in Chicago have led the local critics to speak of him as a revolutionary figure, altering the manner in which jazz itself is going. Said [[Howard Reich]], jazz critic of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', "It would be difficult to overestimate Henry Threadgill's role in perpetually altering the meaning of jazz..…He has changed our underlying assumptions of what jazz can and should be." – An excerpt from a chapter on Henry Threadgill in ''And They All Sang'' (2005) by [[Pulitzer Prize|Pulitzer]]-winning author and disc jockey [[Studs Terkel]], a book about "forty of the greatest and most deeply human musical figures of our time".
Threadgill performed as a percussionist in his high-school marching band before taking up baritone saxophone, alto saxophone, and flute. He studied at the [[American Conservatory of Music]] in Chicago, majoring in piano, flute, and composition. He studied piano with Gail Quillman and composition with Stella Roberts.<ref name="Chinen" /> He was an original member of the Experimental Band, a precursor to the [[Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians]] (AACM) in his hometown of Chicago, and worked under the guidance of [[Muhal Richard Abrams]], before leaving to tour with a [[Gospel music|gospel]] band.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> In 1967, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, playing with a rock band in Vietnam during the [[Vietnam War]] in 1967 and 1968. He was discharged in 1969.


After returning to Chicago, Threadgill joined AACM members bassist [[Fred Hopkins]] and drummer [[Steve McCall (drummer)|Steve McCall]] in a trio which would eventually become the group [[Air (jazz group)|Air]].<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> He moved to New York City, where he formed his first group, X-75, a nonet consisting of four reed players, four bass players, and a vocalist.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/>
==Biography==


In the early 1980s, Threadgill created his first critically acclaimed ensemble as a leader, the Henry Threadgill Sextet (actually a septet; he counted the two drummers as a single percussion unit),<ref>Giddins, Gary and Scott DeVeaux (2009). ''Jazz''. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, {{ISBN|978-0-393-06861-0}}</ref> which released three albums on About Time Records. After a hiatus, he formed New Air with [[Pheeroan akLaff]], replacing Steve McCall on drums, and reformed the Henry Threadgill<!-- Please do not modify this spelling. --> Sextett<!-- Please do not modify this spelling. --> (with two t's at the end). The six albums the group recorded feature some of his most accessible work, notably on the album ''[[You Know the Number]]''.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> The group's unorthodox instrumentation included two drummers, double bass, cello, trumpet, and trombone, in addition to Threadgill's alto saxophone and flute.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> Among the players were drummers akLaff, [[John Betsch]], Reggie Nicholson and Newman Baker; bassist [[Fred Hopkins]]; cellist [[Diedre Murray]]; trumpeters Rasul Siddik and Ted Daniels; [[cornet]]ist [[Olu Dara]]; and trombonists [[Ray Anderson (musician)|Ray Anderson]], [[Frank Lacy]], Bill Lowe, and [[Craig S. Harris (trombonist)|Craig Harris]].
===Early life and career===
Threadgill first performed as a percussionist in his high-school marching band before taking up the [[baritone saxophone]] and later a large portion of the woodwind instrument family. He soon settled upon the [[alto saxophone]] and the [[flute]] as his main instruments.


During the 1990s, Threadgill pushed the musical boundaries even further with his ensemble Very Very Circus.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> The group consisted of two tubas, two electric guitars, a trombone or French horn, and drums. With this group he explored more complex and highly structured forms of composition, augmenting the group with Latin percussion, French horn, violin, accordion, vocalists, and exotic instruments. He composed and recorded with other unusual instruments, such as a flute quartet (Flute Force Four, a one-time project from 1990); and combinations of four cellos and four acoustic guitars (on ''Makin' a Move'').
He was an original member of the legendary [[Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians|AACM]] (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) in his hometown of Chicago and worked under the guidance of [[Muhal Richard Abrams]] before leaving to tour with a [[Gospel music|gospel]] band. In 1967, he enlisted in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]], playing with a Rock band in [[Vietnam]] in 1967 and 1968. He was discharged in 1969.


He was signed by [[Columbia Records]] for three albums. Since the dissolution of Very Very Circus, Threadgill has continued in his iconoclastic ways with ensembles such as Make a Move and Zooid. Zooid, currently a sextet with tuba (Jose Davila), acoustic guitar ([[Liberty Ellman]]), cello (Christopher Hoffman), drums (Elliot Kavee) and bass guitar ([[Stomu Takeishi]]), has been the primary vehicle for Threadgill's compositions in the 2000s.
Upon his return to Chicago he rejoined fellow AACM members [[Double bass|bass]]ist [[Fred Hopkins]] and drummer [[Steve McCall (drummer)|Steve McCall]], forming a trio which would eventually become the group [[Air (jazz group)|Air]], one of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed [[avant-garde jazz]] groups of the 1970s and 1980s. In the meantime, Threadgill had moved to New York City to begin pursuing his own musical visions, which explored musical genres in innovative ways thanks to his daringly unique group collaborations. His first group, X-75, was a nonet consisting of four [[woodwind instrument|reed]] players, four [[double bass|bass]] players and a vocalist.


In 2018, Threadgill composed the string quartet "Sixfivetwo" for the [[Kronos Quartet]], which they recorded as part of their "Fifty for the Future" project.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.50ftf.kronosquartet.org/composers/henry-threadgill |title=Henry Threadgill: Sixfivetwo |website=Kronosquartet.com |access-date=February 1, 2021 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
===The Sextet/Sextett===
In the early 1980s, Threadgill created his first critically acclaimed ensemble as a leader, Henry Threadgill Sextet (actually a septet; he counted the two drummers as a single percussion unit),<ref>Giddins, Gary, and Scott DeVeaux (2009), New York: W.W. Norton & Co, ISBN 978-0-393-06861-0</ref> which released three LPs on [[About Time Records]]. After a hiatus, during which Threadgill formed New Air with [[Pheeroan akLaff]] replacing Steve McCall on drums, Threadgill re-formed the Henry Threadgill Sextett (with two t's at the end). The six albums the group recorded feature some of his most accessible work, notably on the album ''[[You Know the Number]]''.


==Awards and honors==
The group's unorthodox instrumentation included two drummers, [[Double bass|bass]], cello, trumpet and [[trombone]], in addition to Threadgill's alto and flute. Among the players who filled these roles were drummers akLaff, [[John Betsch]], Reggie Nicholson and Newman Baker; bassist [[Fred Hopkins]]; cellist [[Diedre Murray]]; trumpeters [[Rasul Siddik]] and Ted Daniels; [[cornet]]ist [[Olu Dara]]; and trombonists [[Ray Anderson (musician)|Ray Anderson]], [[Frank Lacy]], [[Bill Lowe]] and [[Craig S. Harris (trombonist)|Craig Harris]].
In 2016, Threadgill's composition ''In for a Penny, In for a Pound'' was awarded the [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2016/04/18/winners-and-finalists-for-pulitzer-prize/8nPiW6PyXbZVQvgb4yxwJI/story.html |title= Winners and finalists for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize |author= [[Associated Press]] |work= [[The Boston Globe]] |date= April 18, 2016 |access-date= December 27, 2023 |archive-date= December 27, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231227110041/https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2016/04/18/winners-and-finalists-for-pulitzer-prize/8nPiW6PyXbZVQvgb4yxwJI/story.html |url-status=live}}</ref>


In July 2016, he received the Vietnam Veterans of America Excellence in the Arts Award,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.henrythreadgill.com/awards|title=AWARDS|website=Henrythreadgill.com|access-date=August 2, 2021}}</ref> at the VVA National Leadership Conference in Tucson.
===Very Very Circus and beyond===
[[File:very-very-circus-ticket.jpg|frame|The CD ''Live at Koncepts'' captured the Very Very Circus group live during its earliest days, in 1991|200px]]


"Run Silent, Run Deep, Run Loud, Run High" (conducted by [[Hale Smith]]) and "Mix for Orchestra" (conducted by [[Dennis Russell Davies]]), were both premiered at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] in 1987 and 1993 respectively. He has had commissions from Mordine & Company in 1971 and 1989, from [[Carnegie Hall]] for "Quintet for Strings and Woodwinds" in 1983 and 1985, the [[New York Shakespeare Festival]] in 1985, [[Bang on a Can All-Stars]] in 1995, "Peroxide" commissioned by the [[Miller Theatre]] [[Columbia University]] in 2003 for "Aggregation Orb", a commission from the Talujon Percussion Ensemble in 2008, a piece "Fly Fliegen Volar" commissioned and premiered at the [[Saalfelden]] Jazz Festival with the Junge Philharmonie [[Salzburg]] Orchestra in 2007, a premier of the piece "Mc Guffins" with Zooid at the Biennale Festival in Italy in 2004.
During the 1990s, Threadgill pushed the musical boundaries even further with his ensemble Very Very Circus. In addition to Threadgill, the group's core consisted of two [[tuba]]s, two electric guitars, a [[trombone]] or [[french horn]], and drums. With this group he explored more complex and highly structured forms of composition, augmenting the group with everything from [[latin percussion]] to [[French horn]] to violin to [[accordion]] and an array of exotic instruments and vocalists.


In May 2020 he was presented with an honorary doctor of music by the University of Pennsylvania.
Threadgill composed and recorded with other unusual instrumentations, such as a flute quartet (''Flute Force Four'', a one-time project from 1990); and combinations of four cellos and four acoustic guitars (on ''Makin' a Move'').


In October 2020, the [[National Endowment for the Arts]] (NEA) announced Threadgill as one of four recipients of the [[NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships]], celebrated in an online concert and show on April 22, 2021. Awarded in recognition of lifetime achievement, the honor is bestowed on individuals who have made significant contributions to the art form. The other 2021 recipients were [[Terri Lyne Carrington]], [[Albert Heath|Albert "Tootie" Heath]], and [[Phil Schaap]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beete |first1=Paulette |title=Congratulations to the 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters |url=https://www.arts.gov/stories/blog/2020/congratulations-2021-national-endowment-arts-jazz-masters |website=Arts.gov |publisher=National Endowment for the Arts |access-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130052434/https://www.arts.gov/stories/blog/2020/congratulations-2021-national-endowment-arts-jazz-masters |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
By this time Threadgill's place in the upper echelon of the avant-garde was secured, and he was signed by [[Columbia Records]] for three albums (a rarity for musicians of his kind). Since the dissolution of Very Very Circus, Threadgill has continued in his iconoclastic ways with ensembles such as Make a Move and Zooid. Zooid, currently a sextet with tuba (Jose Davila), acoustic guitar ([[Liberty Ellman]]), cello (Christopher Hoffman), drums (Elliot Kavee) and bass guitar ([[Stomu Takeishi]]), has been the primary vehicle for Threadgill's most current compositions throughout the 2000s (decade).


In 2024 he received a [[PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award|PEN Oakland – Josephine Miles Award]] for ''Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music'', coauthored with [[Brent Hayes Edwards]].
In 2016, Threadgill's composition ''In for a Penny, In for a Pound'' was awarded the [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]].

== Personal life ==
Threadgill was born in Chicago.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hydeparkjazzfestival.org/henry-threadgill/|title=Henry Threadgill|website=Hyde Park Jazz Festival|language=en-US|access-date=November 23, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042445/https://www.hydeparkjazzfestival.org/henry-threadgill/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He studied piano, flute, and composition at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, and Governors State University, in University Park, Illinois.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Threadgill|title=Henry Threadgill, American musician|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=November 23, 2017|language=en}}</ref> He was a member of the US Army Concert Band, and served in Vietnam.<ref>{{Citation|title=Henry Threadgill: Dirt, and More Dirt|url=http://www.wqxr.org/story/henry-threadgill-dirt-and-more-dirt/|language=en|access-date=November 23, 2017}} Meet the Composer Podcast, WXQR.</ref> He is married to recording artist and ethnomusicologist Senti Toy, also known as Sentienla Toy Threadgill.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eclecticnortheast.in/2016/10/know-pulitzer-prize-winner-henry-threadgills-ne-connect/|title=Did You Know About Pulitzer Prize Winner Henry Threadgill's NE Connect?|date=October 15, 2016|website=Eclectic Northeast}}</ref>


==Discography==
==Discography==
===As leader/co-leader===
'''Air'''
* 1975: ''[[Air Song]]'' ([[Why Not Records|Why Not]])
* 1976: ''[[Air Raid (album)|Air Raid]]'' (Why Not)
* 1977: ''[[Live Air]]'' ([[Black Saint Records|Black Saint]])
* 1977: ''[[Air Time]]'' ([[Nessa Records|Nessa]])
* 1978: ''[[Open Air Suit]]'' (Arista/[[Novus Records|Novus]])
* 1978: ''[[Montreux Suisse]]'' (Arista/Novus)
* 1979: ''[[Air Lore]]'' (Arista/Novus)
* 1980: ''[[Air Mail (album)|Air Mail]]'' (Black Saint)
* 1982: ''[[80° Below '82]]'' ([[Antilles Records|Antilles]])
* 1983: ''[[Live at Montreal International Jazz Festival]]'' (as New Air) (Black Saint)
* 1986: ''[[Air Show No. 1]]'' (as New Air with [[Cassandra Wilson]]) (Black Saint)

'''X-75'''
* 1979: ''[[X-75 Volume 1]]'' (Arista/Novus)
'''Henry Threadgill <!-- Please do not modify this spelling. -->Sextett'''<!-- Please do not modify this spelling. -->
* 1982: ''[[When Was That?]]'' (About Time)
* 1983: ''[[Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket]]'' (About Time)
* 1984: ''[[Subject to Change (Henry Threadgill album)|Subject to Change]]'' (About Time)
* 1987: ''[[You Know the Number]]'' (Arista/Novus)
* 1988: ''[[Easily Slip Into Another World]]'' (Arista/Novus)
* 1989: ''[[Rag, Bush and All]]'' (Arista/Novus)


'''Society Situation Dance Band'''
===As leader===
* 1988: ''Live in Hamburg'' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhpKRJYZPUE&t=687s&ab_channel=redobstacle
*1979: ''[[X-75 Volume 1]]'' ([[Arista Records|Arista]]/[[Novus Records|Novus]])
*1982: ''[[When Was That?]]'' (Henry Threadgill Sextet, About Time)
*1983: ''[[Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket]]'' (Henry Threadgill Sextet, About Time)
*1984: ''[[Subject to Change (Henry Threadgill album)|Subject to Change]]'' (Henry Threadgill Sextet, About Time)
*1987: ''[[You Know the Number]]'' (Henry Threadgill Sextett, Arista/Novus)
*1988: ''[[Easily Slip Into Another World]]'' (Henry Threadgill Sextett, Arista/Novus)
*1989: ''[[Rag, Bush and All]]'' (Henry Threadgill Sextett, Arista/Novus)
*1990: ''[[Spirit of Nuff...Nuff]]'' (Very Very Circus, [[Black Saint/Soul Note|Black Saint]])
*1991: ''[[Live at Koncepts]]'' (Very Very Circus, Taylor Made)
*1993: ''[[Too Much Sugar for a Dime]]'' (Very Very Circus, [[Axiom Records|Axiom]])
*1993: ''[[Song Out of My Trees]]'' (Threadgill compositions and arrangements, although he doesn't play on all the tracks himself; Black Saint)
*1994: ''[[Carry the Day]]'' (Very Very Circus, [[Columbia Records|Columbia]])
*1995: ''[[Makin' a Move]]'' (half Very Very Circus, the other half performed by small ensembles of cellos, guitars and piano; Columbia)
*1996: ''[[Where's Your Cup?]]'' (Make a Move, Columbia)
*2001: ''[[Everybodys Mouth's a Book]]'' (Make a Move, [[Pi Recordings]])
*2001: ''[[Up Popped the Two Lips]]'' (Zooid, Pi Recordings)
*2005: ''[[Pop Start the Tape, StoP]]'' (Zooid, Hardedge, LP only)
*2009: ''[[This Brings Us to Volume 1]]'' (Zooid, Pi Recordings)
*2010: ''This Brings Us to Volume 2'' (Zooid, Pi Recordings)
*2012: ''[[Tomorrow Sunny / The Revelry, Spp]]'' (Zooid, Pi Recordings)
*2015: ''[[In for a Penny, In for a Pound]]'' (Zooid, Pi Recordings)
*2016: ''[[Old Locks and Irregular Verbs]]'' (Ensemble Double Up, Pi Recordings)


'''Very Very Circus'''
===With Air===
*1975: ''[[Air Song]]'' ([[Why Not Records|Why Not]])
* 1990: ''[[Spirit of Nuff...Nuff]]'' (Black Saint)
*1976: ''[[Air Raid (album)|Air Raid]]'' (Why Not)
* 1991: ''[[Live at Koncepts]]'' (Taylor Made)
*1977: ''[[Live Air]]'' ([[Black Saint/Soul Note|Black Saint]])
* 1993: ''[[Too Much Sugar for a Dime]]'' ([[Axiom (record label)|Axiom]])
*1977: ''[[Air Time]]'' ([[Nessa Records|Nessa]])
* 1993: ''[[Song Out of My Trees]]'' (Black Saint)
*1978: ''[[Open Air Suit]]'' ([[Arista Records|Arista]]/[[Novus Records|Novus]])
* 1994: ''[[Carry the Day (album)|Carry the Day]]'' ([[Columbia Records|Columbia]])
*1978: ''[[Montreux Suisse]]'' (Arista/Novus)
* 1995: ''[[Makin' a Move]]'' (Columbia)

*1979: ''[[Air Lore]]'' (Arista/Novus)
'''Make a Move'''
*1980: ''[[Air Mail (album)|Air Mail]]'' (Black Saint)
*1982: ''[[80° Below '82]]'' ([[Antilles Records|Antilles]])
* 1996: ''[[Where's Your Cup?]]'' (Columbia)
* 2001: ''[[Everybodys Mouth's a Book]]'' ([[Pi Recordings|Pi]])
*1983: ''[[Live at Montreal International Jazz Festival]]'' (as New Air, Black Saint)

*1986: ''[[Air Show No. 1]]'' (as New Air with [[Cassandra Wilson]]; Black Saint)
'''Zooid'''
* 2001: ''[[Up Popped the Two Lips]]'' (Pi)
* 2005: ''[[Pop Start the Tape, StoP]]'' (Hardedge)
* 2009: ''[[This Brings Us to Volume 1]]'' (Pi)
* 2010: ''[[This Brings Us to Volume 2]]'' (Pi )
* 2012: ''[[Tomorrow Sunny / The Revelry, Spp]]'' (Pi)
* 2015: ''[[In for a Penny, In for a Pound]]'' (Pi)
* 2021: ''[https://pirecordings.com/albums/poof/ Poof]'' (Pi)

'''Ensemble Double Up'''
* 2016: ''[[Old Locks and Irregular Verbs]]'' (Pi)
* 2018: ''[[Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus]]'' (Pi)

'''14 or 15 Kestra: Agg'''
* 2018: ''[[Dirt… And More Dirt]]'' (Pi)

'''Henry Threadgill Ensemble'''
* 2023: ''[https://pirecordings.com/albums/the-other-one/ The Other One]'' (Pi)


===As sideman===
===As sideman===
'''With [[Muhal Richard Abrams]]'''
'''With [[Muhal Richard Abrams]]'''
*''[[Young at Heart/Wise in Time]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Young at Heart/Wise in Time]]'' (1969)
*''[[1-OQA+19]]'' (1977)
* ''[[1-OQA+19]]'' (1977)
'''With [[Anthony Braxton]]'''
'''With [[Anthony Braxton]]'''
*''[[For Trio]]'' (Arista, 1978)
* ''[[For Trio]]'' (Arista, 1978)
'''With [[Chico Freeman]]'''
'''With [[Chico Freeman]]'''
*''[[Morning Prayer (album)|Morning Prayer]]'' (hynot, 1976)
* ''[[Morning Prayer (album)|Morning Prayer]]'' (Whynot, 1976)
'''With [[Roscoe Mitchell]]'''
'''With [[Roscoe Mitchell]]'''
*''[[Nonaah]]'' (Nessa, 1977)
* ''[[Nonaah]]'' (Nessa, 1977)
*''[[L-R-G / The Maze / S II Examples]]'' (Nessa, 1978)
* ''[[L-R-G / The Maze / S II Examples]]'' (Nessa, 1978)

'''With Frank Walton'''
'''With Frank Walton'''
*''Reality'' (1978)
* ''Reality'' (1978)
'''With [[David Murray (saxophonist)|David Murray]]'''

* ''[[Ming (album)|Ming]]'' (1980)
'''With [[David Murray (jazz musician)|David Murray]]'''
*''[[Ming (album)|Ming]]'' (1980)
* ''[[Home (David Murray album)|Home]]'' (1981)
*''[[Home (David Murray album)|Home]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Murray's Steps]]'' (1982)
*''[[Murray's Steps]]'' (1982)

'''With [[Material (band)|Material]] / [[Bill Laswell]]'''
'''With [[Material (band)|Material]] / [[Bill Laswell]]'''
*''[[Memory Serves]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Memory Serves]]'' (1981)
*''[[The Third Power]]'' (1991)
* ''[[The Third Power]]'' (1991)

'''With [[Sly & Robbie]] / Bill Laswell'''
'''With [[Sly & Robbie]] / Bill Laswell'''
*''[[Rhythm Killers]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Rhythm Killers]]'' (1987)

'''With [[Carlinhos Brown]] / Bill Laswell'''
'''With [[Carlinhos Brown]] / Bill Laswell'''
*''Bahia Black: Ritual Beating System'' (1991)
* ''Bahia Black: Ritual Beating System'' (1991)

'''With [[Leroy Jenkins (jazz musician)|Leroy Jenkins]]'''
'''With [[Leroy Jenkins (jazz musician)|Leroy Jenkins]]'''
*''Themes & Improvisations on the Blues'' (1992)
* ''[[Themes & Improvisations on the Blues]]'' (1992)

'''With [[Kip Hanrahan]]'''
'''With [[Kip Hanrahan]]'''
*''Darn It!'' (1992) with [[Paul Haines (poet)|Paul Haines]]
* ''Darn It!'' (1992) with [[Paul Haines (poet)|Paul Haines]]
*''A Thousand Nights and a Night (Shadow Night – 1)'' (1996)
* ''A Thousand Nights and a Night (Shadow Night – 1)'' (1996)

'''With [[Billy Bang]]'''
'''With [[Billy Bang]]'''
*''[[Hip Hop Be Bop]]'' (1993) with [[Craig S. Harris (trombonist)|Craig Harris]]
* ''[[Hip Hop Be Bop]]'' (1993) with [[Craig S. Harris (trombonist)|Craig Harris]]
*''[[Vietnam: Reflections]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Vietnam: Reflections]]'' (2005)

'''With Sola'''
'''With Sola'''
*''Blues in the East'' (1994)
* ''Blues in the East'' (1994)

'''With [[Abiodun Oyewole]]'''
'''With [[Abiodun Oyewole]]'''
*''25 Years'' (1996)
* ''25 Years'' (1996)
'''With [[Flute Force Four]]''' (Threadgill, [[Pedro Eustache]], [[Melecio Magdaluyo]], [[James Newton]])

* ''Flutistry'' (1990, released 1997)
'''With [[Flute Force Four]]'''
*''Flutistry'' (1990, released 1997)

'''With [[Douglas Ewart]]'''
'''With [[Douglas Ewart]]'''
*''Angles of Entrance'' (1998)
* ''Angles of Entrance'' (1998)

'''With [[Jean-Paul Bourelly]]'''
'''With [[Jean-Paul Bourelly]]'''
*''Boom Bop'' (2000)
* ''Boom Bop'' (2000)
*''Trance Atlantic – Boom Bop II'' (2001)
* ''Trance Atlantic – Boom Bop II'' (2001)

'''With [[Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw]]'''
'''With [[Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw]]'''
*''Gigi'' (2001)
* ''Gigi'' (2001)

'''With [[Lucky Peterson]]'''
'''With [[Lucky Peterson]]'''
*''Black Midnight Sun'' (2002)
* ''Black Midnight Sun'' (2002)

'''With [[Dafnis Prieto]]'''
'''With [[Dafnis Prieto]]'''
*''Absolute Quintet'' (2006)
* ''Absolute Quintet'' (2006)

'''With [[Wadada Leo Smith]]'''
'''With [[Wadada Leo Smith]]'''
*''The Great Lakes Suites'' (2012, released 2014)
* ''[[The Great Lakes Suites]]'' (2012, released 2014)
* ''[[The Chicago Symphonies]]'' (2021)

'''With [[Jack DeJohnette]]'''
'''With [[Jack DeJohnette]]'''
*''Made in Chicago'' (2013, Released 2015)
* ''[[Made in Chicago]]'' (ECM, 2013 [2015]) with [[Muhal Richard Abrams]], [[Larry Gray]] and [[Roscoe Mitchell]]


==References==
==References==
Line 169: Line 171:


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.furious.com/perfect/threadgill.html Tribute by Dave Kaufman]
*[http://www.jazzhouse.org/library/index.php3?read=panken3 Extensive interview from 1996] with [[Ted Panken]], host of jazz and new music programs on the [[Columbia University]] radio station WKCR.FM
* [http://www.jazzhouse.org/library/index.php3?read=panken3 Interview on Columbia University's radio station]
*[http://www.gregsandow.com/threadg.htm Greg Sandow: ''Fried Grapefruit: The Life of Henry Threadgill''] Biography written in 1995 for Columbia Records, as part of the press kit for Threadgill's first Columbia album, ''Carry the Day''.
* [https://ethaniverson.com/interview-with-henry-threadgill-part-1/ Interview]
*[http://www.ejn.it/mus/threadgi.htm Europe Jazz Network: Henry Threadgill] Biography from 1991
*[http://aacmchicago.org/henry-threadgill AACM: Henry Threadgill]
* [https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/interviews/henry-threadgill-unedited Henry Threadgill unedited], Wire interview, July 2010
*[http://www.furious.com/perfect/threadgill.html Henry Threadgill] by Dave Kaufman (November '97)
* [http://discography.backstrom.se/threadgill Illustrated Discography by Lars Backstrom]
{{Henry Threadgill}}
*[http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com/bio.php?id=63 Biography by Iridium Jazz Club]
{{Air (free jazz trio)}}
*Lars Backstrom's [http://discography.backstrom.se/threadgill ''Illustrated Discography'' page]
*[http://pirecordings.com Pi Recordings] has released (some of) Threadgill's latest work
*[https://ethaniverson.com/interview-with-henry-threadgill-part-1/ DTM interview]

{{PulitzerPrize Music 2011–2020}}
{{PulitzerPrize Music 2011–2020}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Threadgill, Henry}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Threadgill, Henry}}
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz musicians]]
[[Category:Jazz alto saxophonists]]
[[Category:American saxophonists]]
[[Category:American jazz flautists]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois]]
[[Category:Musicians from Chicago]]
[[Category:African-American classical composers]]
[[Category:American jazz flautists]]
[[Category:African-American classical musicians]]
[[Category:American male saxophonists]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:Avant-garde jazz musicians]]
[[Category:Pi Recordings artists]]
[[Category:American jazz alto saxophonists]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]
[[Category:Guggenheim Fellows]]
[[Category:Pi Recordings artists]]
[[Category:American male classical composers]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Music winners]]
[[Category:American classical composers]]
[[Category:Air (free jazz trio) members]]
[[Category:21st-century American saxophonists]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from Illinois]]
[[Category:21st-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:American male jazz musicians]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American flautists]]

Latest revision as of 21:54, 8 November 2024

Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill at Keystone Korner, San Francisco CA 4/5/79 w/AIR, including Fred Hopkins & Steve McCall
Henry Threadgill at Keystone Korner, San Francisco CA 4/5/79 w/AIR, including Fred Hopkins & Steve McCall
Background information
Birth nameHenry Luther Threadgill
Born (1944-02-15) February 15, 1944 (age 80)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
GenresJazz, avant-garde jazz, free jazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
Instrument(s)Saxophone, flute
Years active1960s–present
LabelsArista/Novus, About Time, Black Saint, Columbia, Pi
Websitewww.henrythreadgill.com

Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944)[1] is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist.[2] He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He has performed and recorded with several ensembles: Air, Aggregation Orb, Make a Move, the seven-piece Henry Threadgill Sextett, the twenty-piece Society Situation Dance Band, Very Very Circus, X-75, and Zooid.

He was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his album In for a Penny, In for a Pound,[3] which premiered at Roulette Intermedium on December 4, 2014.[4]

In 2023, he published his autobiography, written with Brent Hayes Edwards: Easily Slip into Another World: A Life in Music.[5] The book was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, along with being a Best Book of the Year: The New York Times, NPR, The New Yorker.

Career

[edit]

Threadgill performed as a percussionist in his high-school marching band before taking up baritone saxophone, alto saxophone, and flute. He studied at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, majoring in piano, flute, and composition. He studied piano with Gail Quillman and composition with Stella Roberts.[3] He was an original member of the Experimental Band, a precursor to the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in his hometown of Chicago, and worked under the guidance of Muhal Richard Abrams, before leaving to tour with a gospel band.[1] In 1967, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, playing with a rock band in Vietnam during the Vietnam War in 1967 and 1968. He was discharged in 1969.

After returning to Chicago, Threadgill joined AACM members bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall in a trio which would eventually become the group Air.[1] He moved to New York City, where he formed his first group, X-75, a nonet consisting of four reed players, four bass players, and a vocalist.[1]

In the early 1980s, Threadgill created his first critically acclaimed ensemble as a leader, the Henry Threadgill Sextet (actually a septet; he counted the two drummers as a single percussion unit),[6] which released three albums on About Time Records. After a hiatus, he formed New Air with Pheeroan akLaff, replacing Steve McCall on drums, and reformed the Henry Threadgill Sextett (with two t's at the end). The six albums the group recorded feature some of his most accessible work, notably on the album You Know the Number.[1] The group's unorthodox instrumentation included two drummers, double bass, cello, trumpet, and trombone, in addition to Threadgill's alto saxophone and flute.[1] Among the players were drummers akLaff, John Betsch, Reggie Nicholson and Newman Baker; bassist Fred Hopkins; cellist Diedre Murray; trumpeters Rasul Siddik and Ted Daniels; cornetist Olu Dara; and trombonists Ray Anderson, Frank Lacy, Bill Lowe, and Craig Harris.

During the 1990s, Threadgill pushed the musical boundaries even further with his ensemble Very Very Circus.[1] The group consisted of two tubas, two electric guitars, a trombone or French horn, and drums. With this group he explored more complex and highly structured forms of composition, augmenting the group with Latin percussion, French horn, violin, accordion, vocalists, and exotic instruments. He composed and recorded with other unusual instruments, such as a flute quartet (Flute Force Four, a one-time project from 1990); and combinations of four cellos and four acoustic guitars (on Makin' a Move).

He was signed by Columbia Records for three albums. Since the dissolution of Very Very Circus, Threadgill has continued in his iconoclastic ways with ensembles such as Make a Move and Zooid. Zooid, currently a sextet with tuba (Jose Davila), acoustic guitar (Liberty Ellman), cello (Christopher Hoffman), drums (Elliot Kavee) and bass guitar (Stomu Takeishi), has been the primary vehicle for Threadgill's compositions in the 2000s.

In 2018, Threadgill composed the string quartet "Sixfivetwo" for the Kronos Quartet, which they recorded as part of their "Fifty for the Future" project.[7]

Awards and honors

[edit]

In 2016, Threadgill's composition In for a Penny, In for a Pound was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music.[8]

In July 2016, he received the Vietnam Veterans of America Excellence in the Arts Award,[9] at the VVA National Leadership Conference in Tucson.

"Run Silent, Run Deep, Run Loud, Run High" (conducted by Hale Smith) and "Mix for Orchestra" (conducted by Dennis Russell Davies), were both premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1987 and 1993 respectively. He has had commissions from Mordine & Company in 1971 and 1989, from Carnegie Hall for "Quintet for Strings and Woodwinds" in 1983 and 1985, the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1985, Bang on a Can All-Stars in 1995, "Peroxide" commissioned by the Miller Theatre Columbia University in 2003 for "Aggregation Orb", a commission from the Talujon Percussion Ensemble in 2008, a piece "Fly Fliegen Volar" commissioned and premiered at the Saalfelden Jazz Festival with the Junge Philharmonie Salzburg Orchestra in 2007, a premier of the piece "Mc Guffins" with Zooid at the Biennale Festival in Italy in 2004.

In May 2020 he was presented with an honorary doctor of music by the University of Pennsylvania.

In October 2020, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced Threadgill as one of four recipients of the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships, celebrated in an online concert and show on April 22, 2021. Awarded in recognition of lifetime achievement, the honor is bestowed on individuals who have made significant contributions to the art form. The other 2021 recipients were Terri Lyne Carrington, Albert "Tootie" Heath, and Phil Schaap.[10]

In 2024 he received a PEN Oakland – Josephine Miles Award for Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music, coauthored with Brent Hayes Edwards.

Personal life

[edit]

Threadgill was born in Chicago.[11] He studied piano, flute, and composition at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, and Governors State University, in University Park, Illinois.[12] He was a member of the US Army Concert Band, and served in Vietnam.[13] He is married to recording artist and ethnomusicologist Senti Toy, also known as Sentienla Toy Threadgill.[14]

Discography

[edit]

As leader/co-leader

[edit]

Air

X-75

Henry Threadgill Sextett

Society Situation Dance Band

Very Very Circus

Make a Move

Zooid

Ensemble Double Up

14 or 15 Kestra: Agg

Henry Threadgill Ensemble

As sideman

[edit]

With Muhal Richard Abrams

With Anthony Braxton

With Chico Freeman

With Roscoe Mitchell

With Frank Walton

  • Reality (1978)

With David Murray

With Material / Bill Laswell

With Sly & Robbie / Bill Laswell

With Carlinhos Brown / Bill Laswell

  • Bahia Black: Ritual Beating System (1991)

With Leroy Jenkins

With Kip Hanrahan

  • Darn It! (1992) with Paul Haines
  • A Thousand Nights and a Night (Shadow Night – 1) (1996)

With Billy Bang

With Sola

  • Blues in the East (1994)

With Abiodun Oyewole

  • 25 Years (1996)

With Flute Force Four (Threadgill, Pedro Eustache, Melecio Magdaluyo, James Newton)

  • Flutistry (1990, released 1997)

With Douglas Ewart

  • Angles of Entrance (1998)

With Jean-Paul Bourelly

  • Boom Bop (2000)
  • Trance Atlantic – Boom Bop II (2001)

With Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw

  • Gigi (2001)

With Lucky Peterson

  • Black Midnight Sun (2002)

With Dafnis Prieto

  • Absolute Quintet (2006)

With Wadada Leo Smith

With Jack DeJohnette

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 396. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
  2. ^ Chris Kelsey (February 15, 1944). "Henry Threadgill | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Chinen, Nate (April 18, 2016). "At Last, a Box Henry Threadgill Fits Nicely Into: Pulitzer Winner". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "Henry Threadgill – Roulette". Roulette.org. July 22, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  5. ^ Williams, Richard (August 4, 2023). "Summer books 1: Henry Threadgill". the blue moment. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Giddins, Gary and Scott DeVeaux (2009). Jazz. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, ISBN 978-0-393-06861-0
  7. ^ "Henry Threadgill: Sixfivetwo". Kronosquartet.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ Associated Press (April 18, 2016). "Winners and finalists for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  9. ^ "AWARDS". Henrythreadgill.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  10. ^ Beete, Paulette. "Congratulations to the 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters". Arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  11. ^ "Henry Threadgill". Hyde Park Jazz Festival. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  12. ^ "Henry Threadgill, American musician". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  13. ^ Henry Threadgill: Dirt, and More Dirt, retrieved November 23, 2017 Meet the Composer Podcast, WXQR.
  14. ^ "Did You Know About Pulitzer Prize Winner Henry Threadgill's NE Connect?". Eclectic Northeast. October 15, 2016.
[edit]
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