Henry Threadgill Ensemble: The Other One

This 2022 live recording for Pi Recordings, dedicated to the great percussionist Milford Graves, shows the masterful composer Henry Threadgill demonstrating his immense talents in the world of chamber music.  This work, with the title "Of Valence" in three movements, with the first and third divided into sections and a finale, while the middle one is a continuous piece, reflects all the intricacy, unusual harmonies, melodic expressiveness and experiments with sound that mark Threadgill's long, productive career.

He doesn't perform on this, which was recorded as part of a multi-media presentation (yes, there was another set called "The One"), but he conducts the dozen musicians, including those playing alto and tenor saxes, clarinet, bassoons and tuba; cellos, viola and violin, a drummer who added other percussion and electronics and a pianist.  Threadgill has not often worked with the latter instrument, but it opens the work and establishes a fine introduction for a piece that melds composition with improvisation.

The Pi website for the album notes that the composer "was driven to create this new large work based on his observations of the exodus of people from New York City during the Covid pandemic," but, specifically, what was left behind in terms of trash and other debris in Threadgill's East Village neighborhood "and what this reveals about human transience, rampant consumerism, and a disposable society.  Other aspects of the performance involved the projection of paintings and photographs, video, his voice pre-recorded as a choir, electronic sounds, Threadgill singing while playing the piano and his prose recitations about the effects of technology on behavior.  It was added that the attitude of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) regarding the approaches of its members to art and music are well-exemplified here.

The Other One is dedicated to the great percussionist Milford Graves, who was dedicated to the ways in which the heart beat and music are melded, and this is heard in the lengthy second movement, during which a string trio plays while cardiologist-recorded playbacks of their heartbeats provided them with the tempo.  Drummer Craig Weinrib, moreover, had transducers connected to his cymbals and electronic impulses gave these a different effect in timbre.  It was noted that Threadgill's memoir, Easily Slip Into Another World, was published in conjunction with this release, and that book is very highly recommended, as is this remarkable recording—which is another stunning addition to a vast and versatile catalog!

Jack DeJohnnette: Made in Chicago

The next post was going to be about a Henry Threadgill album and we'll get to that soon, but the news of the death, at age 83, of the phenomenal drummer Jack DeJohnnette, means that a tribute is being offered here to this master musician through his all-star group live record on ECM, Made in Chicago.  This great album, also part of the mammoth The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Associated Ensembles box set, was recorded in late August 2013 at Millennium Park for the Chicago Jazz Festival and is an agglomeration of titans of the Windy City's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, or AACM.

This includes the leader, his junior college classmates Roscoe Mitchell (of the Art Ensemble of Chicago) and Threadgill, the pianist and AACM founding figure Muhal Richard Abrams and bassist Larry Gray.  This quintet delivered a diverse and powerful performance program, including two pieces from Mitchell and one each from Abrams, DeJohnnette and Threadgill, culminating in a phenomenal improvised jam at the end.

Typical of the ethos of the AACM and the character of DeJohnnette, this is truly a group recording in terms of the choice of songs, but also the beautiful meshing of the performers and the listening that allowed for everyone to make their contributions in ways that varied widely but also came together beautifully.  Bassists, as per usual, are not as heralded because of their function of keeping the rhythm well grounded, but Gray does this with great aplomb.  When, he, DeJohnnette and Abrams are accompanying the horns, they are totally in sync and providing the right level of support.

Abrams is a pianist of not just great skill, but also of much sensitivity and creativity, while his "Jack 5" is another one of his rich and multi-varied compositions.  Mitchell, too, is a remarkable creator of music in composition, with his "Chant" and "This" as well as in his impressive use of alto, soprano and sopranino saxes, the baroque flute and bass flute.  Threadgill's "Leave Don't Go Away" is another of his many impressive forays into experimentation with form, though here with more standard instrumentation and his alto sax and bass flute playing is, as always, stellar.

To this listener, though, it is "Ten Minutes," which is really a little more than five minutes, that is the highlight of the album.  Here, these giants of jazz are no-holds-barred with Mitchell and Threadgill soaring into the stratosphere with their horns, while Gray and DeJohnnette charge full force and Abrams executes brilliant runs including his closing one on his own.  The ecstatic applause at the end signifies what a thrilling end to an amazing concert this was.

Jack DeJohnnette had a brilliant career as a leader and co-leader, including his album New Directions from 1978 and his early work with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis, as well as his long-standing presence in the standards trio with Gary Peacock and Keith Jarrett.  He leaves behind an awesome percussive legacy and long may he be heard!

Henry Threadgill Zooid: In for a Penny, In for a Pound

It was great to see a few years back the great composer and multi-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill receive the Pulitzer Prize in music for the double-disc In for a Penny, In for a Pound, released on Liberty Ellman's Pi Records, an honor very rarely bestowed on a jazz musician.

Ever since I walked into a record store (remember those?) just over twenty-five years ago and heard the amazing Too Much Sugar for a Dime and bought the store's playing copy because they didn't have any in stock, I've been a great admirer of this remarkable creative force.

Threadgill's concept for Zooid can be discerned in this dictionary definition of that term: any organic body or cell capable of spontaneous movement and of an existence more or less apart from or independent of the parent organism. So this looks to mean that spontaneous movement translates into improvisation and elements of an ensemble, soloists, rhythm section, etc. can operate "more or less apart" while staying within the group during a performance.

As he puts it in his notes, the album was conceived as "a stream of phases" for one long "epic" piece where the group "could revisit and find a new perspective and arrangement with each performance."  Moreover, the each of the four pieces in quintets "focuses on a different instrument," though a listener would take in all of the pieces "to get the complete picture of any one instrument in the mix."

What's remarkable is how the ensemble works organically, while allowing for free expression within the long work and its component parts.  The mix of winds through the work of Threadgill's alto sax and flutes and José Davila's tuba (in lieu of bass) and trombone are complemented by the strings in Christopher Hoffman's violoncello and Ellman's guitar.  Keeping everything moving along is Elliot Humberto Kavee's drums and percussion.

It can't be said that In for a Penny, In for a Pound, being a Pulitzer Prize-winning album, is better than any other Threadgill work, but it is a fantastic excursion into how music can be structured and played with both exquisite care for the arrangement of instruments, component groups and parts, and the development of sound structures that are both challenging and, in their own way, accessible with open ears and minds.

Henry Threadgill: Rag, Bush and All

The great Henry Threadgill has just been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for music for his recent album In for a Penny, In for a Pound.  Because this blogger doesn't yet have that album, recognition of Threadgill's achievement is commemorated with the remarkable early 1989 release, Rag, Bush and All.  This album was purchased on cassette not long after the masterful Too Much Sugar for a Dime came out four years later.

The record is filled with Threadgill's typically complex, multi-layered harmonic sense, shifting time and compelling melodies. It also features combinations of instruments that are fascinating contrasts in their sonic pallettes, including the leader's alto in contrast with the trumpet and fluegelhorn of Ted Daniels and then the leader's bass flute played off of Bill Lowe's bass trombone.  Bassist Fred Hopkins, a longtime member with Threadgill in the amazing trio AIR, has a cellist counterpart in Deidre Murray.   Finally, there are two drummers, Newman Baker and Reggie Nicholson.

"Off the Rag" is a wild ride, with its theme stated at the beginning, as expected, but then restated in various ways with differing groupings of instrumentation throughout the nearly 13-minute piece.  The cello and bass combination, the various horns, and the dual percussion always provides interesting excursions into sound.  This track is definitely one of the more notable in Threadgill's long career.

"The Devil is on the Loose and Dancin' With a Monkey" has a fine solo by Hopkins, as well as a short and bright one by Daniels on trumpet.  The rhythm is kept moving by the two drummers and Hopkins and Murray.  Threadgill's playful melody is nicely accented by the other horns.

"Gift" starts off quietly with cymbals played as if windchimes softly moved by a breeze.  The horns come in with a mounful and contemplative theme with Daniels taking a lead role in generating high-pitched and plaintive sounds above the others with a minimal percussive accompaniment.  Threadgill's ghostly bass flute then takes over for a time before the ensemble quietly takes the tune to a conclusion.

"Sweet Holy Rag" has another playful opening melodic statement, almost like something from early 20th century popular music, led by Murray's cello and the horns accompanying.  Hopkins plays a catchy bass figure with the drummers rumbling along in sync.  Then, the horns generate a separate theme, swirling and climbing until Threadgill's flute is developed with a kind of lumbering rhythm.  Again, complexity in time, offbeat instrumental linkages and characteristically unusual melodic themes mark this tune.  Threadgill's solo from about three minutes is the centerpiece of the song and is very soulful with his bandmates in counterpoint.  Daniels takes an excellent solo about eight minutes or so in and is followed brilliantly by Hopkins and Baker.

Rag, Bush and All is a stunning recording among many in the long, fruitful career of one of jazz's great composers and bandleaders, who always surprises with his use of unusual instrumental combinations, eclectic harmonic devices, and melodies and themes that are simply Threadgillian.  His receiving the Pulitzer Prize this year is recognition of Threadgill's singular talent.

AIR: Air Song

The jazz genre was said to be in decline and decay from the about the late Sixties onward and, in terms of sales and popular attention, there was probably some reason for this assertion, as rock, R&B, funk, soul and other forms of music sapped audiences away from jazz, which had a peak of popularity in the late 50s and early 60s.

Yet, there was phenomenal music being made just as the form was said to be dying on the vine and much of the finest work came out of Chicago, this blogger's hometown, where the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) was blazing trails through the work of Muhal Richard Abrams, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Anthony Braxton, and many more, including the trio that made up AIR (Artists in Residence.)

Bassist Fred Hopkins, drummer Steve McCall, and multi-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill made some of the most exciting jazz in the Seventies, starting with Air Song, a 1975 recording, and continuing with a slew of studio and live recordings over the next several years.

The project actually began in 1971 when Threadgill was asked by Chicago's Columbia College to develop a program based on the music of ragtime master Scott Joplin.  While Joplin was known for his piano compositions, the trio was challenged by making music on other instruments that took its inspiration from the keyboard instrument.  In fact, Threadgill has frequently used ragtime as a basis for his music ever since.

The opening track (all four titles were written by Threadgill) of Air Song is simply called "Untitled Song" and opens with McCall's powerful drumming before the trio moves into forms of interplay that aptly demonstrate why this was such a remarkable group.  Later in the piece, Hopkins gets an extended solo that is simply awesome.  Threadgill is typically lyrical, playful, offbeat and challenging on alto, playing that instrument in a way that is totally his own.

Threadgill has a knack for fanciful and, perhaps, nonsensical song titles, maybe because, particularly in freer forms of jazz, descriptive titles are hard to justify.  In any case, "Great Body of the Riddle or Where Were the Dodge Boys When My Clay Started to Slide" is another amazing piece, anchored by Hopkins' rich bass work, McCall's inventive percussion, and a highly earthy and creative solo by Threadgill on the baritone sax, an instrument not generally heard often in jazz and certainly not by Threadgill.

"Dance of the Beast" is another superlative effort by the rhythm section as McCall and Hopkins shapeshift frequently and keep the piece humming along with invention and precision, while Threadgill overblows, honks, sputters and wails his way around the piece--evidently providing much of the impetus for the title, although his compatriots certainly comprise a "beast" of a rhythm section, as well.

Threadgill begins the title track with a somber flute solo, punctuated by a splash of cymbals by McCall and arco bass by Hopkins, who sympathetically and brilliantly accompanies Threadgill's playing, with the occasional cymbal crashing and triangle playing by the drummer.  In addition to Threadgill's staggering soloing, Hopkins's masterful bass and McCall's restraint are key to the success of this low-key, but highly impressive performance.

In fact, this is what made AIR's debut so remarkable--the trio performed as a totally integrated, synchronized unit, putting the collaborative above the showy and the plurality above the individual.  Air Song is a brilliant work by a superlative group of jazz musicians.

Henry Threadgill: You Know the Number

This 1986 release on RCA's Novus imprint displays some impressive composing by the great Henry Threadgill, excellent playing by his diverse sextet, and fine production making for a beautifully-sounding record.

"Bermuda Blues" features great bass and cello work by Fred Hopkins and Deidre Murray, respectively, and a nice blend of brass with the leader, trumpeter Rasul Sadik and trombonist Frank Lacy performing with a highly-developed sense of interplay as well as solid soloing.

Hopkins starts off with a contemplative bass solo on "Silver and Gold Baby, Silver and Gold," before the others join in on this complex ballad.  Also notable throughout the album is how the percussion is recorded with Pheeroan Aklaff on the left channel and Reggie Nicholson on the right.  On this tune, Threadgill's piercing, keening solo stands out--very much in his style of playing and always affecting.

The opening of "Theme for Thomas Cole" has that peculiar attribute of Threadgill's arrangement of instrumentation, with the trombone, muted trumpet and alto marking out a complex and unusual theme statement, before Lacy solos with a cymbal and bass accompaniment.  Then, the ensemble comes back in with a striking way of various brass soloing.

"Good Times" is as catchy and accessible a tune as can be found in Threadgill's discography, a truly uplifting tune with all of that remarkable harmonic interplay that is endemic to the work.  The leader's gritty alto work stands out once again amidst all of the sonic expression that is also characteristic of his music.  There is also some good drum soloing and a crazy trombone solo from the remarkable Lacy, giving some spotlight to an instrument not heard much in modern jazz.

"To Be Announced" has a cool percussive opening, bass line, and a captivating brass harmony to open the piece.  Complex, yet highly listenable as that rhythm keeps things hopping while Lacy bursts into another fine solo--he proves to be the biggest surprise on this album, though Sadik's playing is also of note.

"Paille Street" sounds like it could have come from a classic movie soundtrack when it opens, perhaps because of Murray's beautiful cello playing and the muted brass accompaniment behind her.  Hopkins also plays a beautiful, rich bass to hold down the bottom, while the percussion mainly utilizes brush for a light touch.  This piece is really pretty--one of the nicer ballads in Threadgill's catalog.

Threadgill is known for peculiar titling, perhaps because naming instrumental pieces is an exercise in futility, especially when the music is this complex, dense and striking.  So, "For Those Who Eat Cookies" may not signify much, but check out that amazing interplay among the brass while the rhythm section lays it down nicely behind them.  Threadgill, who gave a lot of space to his fellow musicians to create uniformly excellent solos, staggers again with his amazing alto work, while that interplay continues to be essential to the quality of this piece and the record as a whole.

The follow-up to this record, 1989's Rag, Bush and All and the 1993 album, Too Much Sugar for a Dime may be Threadgill's high-water marks in his long, estimable discography, but You Know the Number is right up there and, if the number was 3 in ranking of his many superb recordings, that's fine company to be in.  This is a great album.

Henry Threadgill: Too Much Sugar for a Dime

It was nearly twenty years ago, 1993, and most people were still buying their music through the "record store," a quaint concept now.  I walked into a Pasadena shop and was immediately struck by the jazz album playing on the store's system.  There was an alto sax player of great skill, and electric guitarists and a drummer, all familiar to a significant degree, but there was also tubas, and African-sounding percussion and a strange, ethereal, otherworldly female vocalist, and some men singing what sounded like Portuguese.

When I walked up to the counter and asked what the record was, I was told it was Henry Threadgill, a name I had never heard before and that it was his new recording, Too Much Sugar for a Dime.  Without hesitating, I inquired as to whether there were copies of the album for sale and the reply was that the only one was that being played, but that I could have it for $10.  Sold!

Looking over the case and the cover art, there was the name of the label, Axiom and of co-producer and label founder Bill Laswell.  As I was three years in to a method of buying several albums at a time in the general genres of rock, jazz, hip hop, classical, world, and reggae, I knew both quite well from the purchase of several of the label's world music recordings, as well as some of its other releases, like the fantastic 1991 Sonny Sharrock album, Ask the Ages, featured here recently.  I soon learned that Threadgill came from the ferment of Chicago's 1960s jazz scene with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), which included Richard Muhal Abrams, Anthony Braxton (also to be featured here quite soon), and the Art Ensemble of Chicago (ditto.)

Threadgill's style of composing is utterly distinctive and he has always favored instrumentation that is unusual harmonically, as well as sonically.  His group at the time, Very Very Circus, featured a French horn player, two electric guitarists, a drummer and two tuba players, but no bassist.  On two more orchestral pieces, "In Touch" and "Better Wrapped/Better Unrapped," there was an additional tuba, another drummer, three violinists (one of whom played the oud, this being the Simon Shaheen, featured here with his remarkable Taqasim duet with Ali Jihad Racy not long ago, and another being the underappreciated Leroy Jenkins), Brazilian percussionists (who also do their singing on the latter), and, on the former, two vocalists, one singing lyrics and the other vocalizing ethereally. 

But, it was the opening track, "Little Pocket Size Demons," that I'd been blown away by when I walked into that record store and is still a stunning piece, with Threadgill's agile, jagged soloing complemented by the sonic fireworks of Masujaa and Brandon Ross on electric guitarists.  The great drummer Gene Lake holds the beat down excellently throughout the record.  Ross also deserves notice for his acoustic guitar work on "Too Much Sugar," by far the briefest of the six pieces on this very eclectic, off-beat, but entrancing album. 

Since this amazing and welcome discovery, I've picked up several more of these great composer's albums and have enjoyed them all, but Too Much Sugar for a Dime is still the favorite.  As Threadgill states in his abstract poetic liner notes:

These great musicians working
together so, was some kind of Shangri-la
or better, on this side.
     Just,
     just wonderful — to get the
expected and unexpected.
     Very very
     . . . Very (Sigh)  Now it's just pigeon

Though I'm not sure what that last phrase means.

Henry Threadgill:  Too Much Sugar for a Dime (Axiom Records, 1993)

1.  Little Pocket Size Demons  10:49
2.  In Touch  8:49
3.  Paper Toilet  5:39
4.  Better Wrapped/Better Unrapped  13:05
5.  Too Much Sugar  2:58
6.  Try Some Ammonia  12:23