For over forty years, Henry Threadgill has been celebrated as one of the most forward-thinking composers and multi-instrumentalists in American music. The New York Times has called him “perhaps the most important jazz composer of his generation.” Born in 1944 in Chicago, Threadgill was an early member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
The jazz avant-garde has produced dozens of notable improvisers (not surprisingly, since improvisation is arguably the ... view more »
For over forty years, Henry Threadgill has been celebrated as one of the most forward-thinking composers and multi-instrumentalists in American music. The New York Times has called him “perhaps the most important jazz composer of his generation.” Born in 1944 in Chicago, Threadgill was an early member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
The jazz avant-garde has produced dozens of notable improvisers (not surprisingly, since improvisation is arguably the music’s defining element), but relatively few great composers. Henry Threadgill is a member of that exclusive club. With his fellow Chicagoans Anthony Braxton and Muhal Richard Abrams, he’s one of the most original jazz composers of his generation. Threadgill’s art transcends stylistic boundaries. He embraces the world of music in its entirety, from ragtime to circus marches to classical to bop, free jazz, and beyond. Such might sound merely eclectic in the telling, but in truth, Threadgil always sounds like Threadgill.
In for a Penny, In for a Pound by Henry Threadgill was named the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for “distinguished musical composition by an American.” In awarding the prize, the Pulitzer committee called the release “a highly original work in which notated music and improvisation mesh in a sonic tapestry that seems the very expression of modern American life.” We could not be more ecstatic for Henry and are honored to have been able to help document his work these last 15 years.
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