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Jazz Articles about Henry Threadgill
Air: Air Raid
by AAJ Italy Staff
Tempi felici per i threadgilliani. Quasi in contemporanea con This Brings Us to Volume II (sequel al giustamente celebrato This Brings Us to Volume I) e a pochi mesi dall'uscita del mega-imperdibile-cofanetto-feticcio della Mosaic sul periodo Novus e Columbia (Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air), arriva come manna dal cielo la ristampa Candid del secondo disco degli Air, pubblicato nel '76 dalla Why Not: Air Raid. Il debutto del trio datato '75, Air Song, era già stato ...
Continue ReadingHenry Threadgill Zooid: This Brings Us to Volume II
by AAJ Italy Staff
Che Henry Threadgill sia uno dei compositori più originali e significativi della musica del nostro tempo non lo si scopre adesso e non lo si scopre necessariamente con questo disco [ma qualsiasi punto di approdo al suo mondo è estremamente interessante in una carriera dal segno formale così importante]: dagli inizi degli anni Settanta, attraverso le esperienze del trio Air e del Sextett, tra grandi pause e evidenti idiosincrasie nei confronti di un ambiente - quello del “jazz" - che ...
Continue ReadingHenry Threadgill Zooid: This Brings Us To, Volume 1
by AAJ Italy Staff
Che Henry Threadgill sia uno dei più straordinari protagonisti della storia della musica afroamericana è un dato che si spera nessuno possa mai mettere in discussione: a colpire, oltre alla eccellente qualità delle sue composizioni, è certamente la capacità di lavorare su processi creativi di fortissimo spessore e personalità, del tutto incurante di mode o di ammiccamenti all'ascoltatore. Ne è una prova tangibile il tempo che il musicista ha lasciato passare tra il dittico Everybody's Mouth's a Book / Up ...
Continue ReadingHenry Threadgill: This Brings Us To, Vol. 1
by Russ Musto
Henry Threadgill's This Brings Us To, Vol. 1 marks the return of the iconoclastic saxophonist/flautist's Zooid ensemble, his primary public performance vehicle for the past decade. The quintet, although having undergone some significant changes since its previous disc, with bass guitarist Stomu Takeishi and multi-instrumentalist Elliot Humberto Kavee replacing cellist/trombonist Dana Leong and drummer Dafnis Prieto, the group remains a cohesive unit with a unified sound, in no small part due to the continued presence of longtime band members, guitarist ...
Continue ReadingHenry Threadgill Zooid: This Brings Us To, Volume 1
by Troy Collins
Pi Recordings was founded in 2001 to release a pair of albums by legendary AACM composer/multi-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill, the electric Everybody's Mouth's a Book (with Make a Move) and acoustic Up Popped the Two Lips (with Zooid). This Brings Us To, Volume 1 is his first commercially released recording in eight years--a homecoming of sorts for both Pi and Threadgill. Threadgill's longstanding quintet features Liberty Ellman (acoustic guitar), Jose Davila (trombone and tuba), Stomu Takeishi (acoustic bass guitar) ...
Continue ReadingHenry Threadgill Makes A Move
by Kurt Gottschalk
Henry Threadgill isn't hesitant to state his place in music. He has, he said quite plainly, “changed music both horizontally and vertically." His work isn't “strident," he said. “It doesn't strike you. You might think you know what's going on, but try to analyze it." And he states it, perhaps, because no one else will. “There are no scholars trying to analyze what I've done and critics certainly don't know," he ...
Continue ReadingHenry Threadgill: Up Popped The Two Lips & Everybody's Mouth's A Book
by Glenn Astarita
This Chicago, IL born modernist worked his way through the ranks of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), while eventually forming the highly regarded trio Air, back in the early 70's. Nevertheless, saxophonist/composer Henry Threadgill's prominence sharply increased with the advent of his acoustic/electric Very Very Circus and Make A Move bands. Consequently, the artist burst onto the scene with a highly distinctive compositional style, where he seemingly derived inspiration from Sousa style marches, cabaret, rock, and ...
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