Henry Threadgill facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill at Keystone Korner, San Francisco CA 4/5/79 w/AIR, including Fred Hopkins & Steve McCall
Background information
Birth name	Henry Luther Threadgill
Born	(1944-02-15) February 15, 1944 (age 81) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, avant-garde jazz, free jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instruments	Saxophone, flute
Years active	1960s–present
Labels	Arista/Novus, About Time, Black Saint, Columbia, Pi
Associated acts	AACM, Air, Muhal Richard Abrams, Billy Bang, Anthony Braxton, Craig Harris, Leroy Jenkins, Roscoe Mitchell

Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American musician and composer. He plays the saxophone and flute. Henry Threadgill became well-known in the 1970s for leading unique music groups. These groups played jazz music but often used unusual instruments. They also mixed in other types of music.

He has played and recorded with many different groups. Some of his famous groups include Air, the Henry Threadgill Sextett, Very Very Circus, and Zooid. In 2016, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his album In for a Penny, In for a Pound. This is a very important award for music. In 2023, he released his life story, called Easily Slip into Another World: A Life in Music.

Henry Threadgill's Musical Journey

Henry Threadgill started his musical journey early. In high school, he played percussion in the marching band. Later, he learned to play the baritone saxophone, alto saxophone, and flute. He studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. There, he focused on piano, flute, and composing music.

He was one of the first members of a group called the Experimental Band. This group later became the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). The AACM is a famous group of musicians in Chicago. After this, he toured with a gospel band. In 1967, he joined the U.S. Army. He played with a rock band in Vietnam during the Vietnam War until 1969.

Forming Early Groups

After returning to Chicago, Threadgill joined two other AACM members. They were bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall. Together, they formed a trio that became the group Air. Later, he moved to New York City. There, he started his first group called X-75. This group had nine musicians. It included four reed players, four bass players, and a singer.

In the early 1980s, Henry Threadgill formed the Henry Threadgill Sextett. This group was very popular with music critics. Even though it was called a "Sextett," it actually had seven members! He counted the two drummers as one percussion unit. This group released three albums.

After a break, he formed New Air with Pheeroan akLaff on drums. He also brought back the Henry Threadgill Sextett. This group recorded six albums. Some of his most well-known music is on the album You Know the Number. The Sextett used unusual instruments. These included two drummers, a double bass, a cello, a trumpet, and a trombone. Of course, Threadgill also played his alto saxophone and flute.

Exploring New Sounds

In the 1990s, Threadgill continued to push musical limits. He formed a group called Very Very Circus. This group had a unique sound. It included two tubas, two electric guitars, a trombone or French horn, and drums. With this group, he explored more complex ways of composing music. He sometimes added Latin percussion, violin, accordion, singers, and other interesting instruments.

He also composed music for other unusual instrument combinations. For example, he wrote for a flute quartet called Flute Force Four. He also wrote for four cellos and four acoustic guitars on his album Makin' a Move.

He signed with Columbia Records and released three albums with them. After Very Very Circus, Threadgill kept creating new and unique groups. These included Make a Move and Zooid. Zooid is currently a six-member group. It features tuba, acoustic guitar, cello, drums, and bass guitar. Zooid has been the main group for Threadgill's music in the 2000s. In 2018, he wrote a string quartet called "Sixfivetwo" for the Kronos Quartet.

Awards and Special Honors

Henry Threadgill has received many important awards for his music.

Pulitzer Prize and Other Recognitions

In 2016, his composition In for a Penny, In for a Pound won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. This is one of the highest honors for composers in the United States. In July 2016, he also received the Vietnam Veterans of America Excellence in the Arts Award.

He has also been asked to create music for many famous places and groups. These include the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall, and the New York Shakespeare Festival. In May 2020, the University of Pennsylvania gave him an honorary doctor of music degree.

In October 2020, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) honored Threadgill. He was named one of the four recipients of the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships. This award celebrates people who have made huge contributions to jazz music throughout their lives. In 2024, he won a PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award for his autobiography, Easily Slip Into Another World: A Life in Music.

About Henry Threadgill's Life

Henry Threadgill was born in Chicago. He studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He also attended Governors State University in Illinois. He was part of the U.S. Army Concert Band and served in Vietnam. He is married to Senti Toy, who is also a recording artist and studies music from different cultures.

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Air

• 1975: Air Song (Why Not)
• 1976: Air Raid (Why Not)
• 1977: Live Air (Black Saint)
• 1977: Air Time (Nessa)
• 1978: Open Air Suit (Arista/Novus)
• 1978: Montreux Suisse (Arista/Novus)
• 1979: Air Lore (Arista/Novus)
• 1980: Air Mail (Black Saint)
• 1982: 80° Below '82 (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 Sextett

• 1982: When Was That? (About Time)
• 1983: Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket (About Time)
• 1984: 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

• 1988: Live in Hamburg [1]

Very Very Circus

• 1990: Spirit of Nuff...Nuff (Black Saint)
• 1991: Live at Koncepts (Taylor Made)
• 1993: Too Much Sugar for a Dime (Axiom)
• 1993: Song Out of My Trees (Black Saint)
• 1994: Carry the Day (Columbia)
• 1995: Makin' a Move (Columbia)

Make a Move

• 1996: Where's Your Cup? (Columbia)
• 2001: Everybodys Mouth's a Book (Pi)

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: 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: The Other One (Pi)

As sideman

With Muhal Richard Abrams

• Young at Heart/Wise in Time (1969)
• 1-OQA+19 (1977)

With Anthony Braxton

• For Trio (Arista, 1978)

With Chico Freeman

• Morning Prayer (Whynot, 1976)

With Roscoe Mitchell

• Nonaah (Nessa, 1977)
• L-R-G / The Maze / S II Examples (Nessa, 1978)

With Frank Walton

• Reality (1978)

With David Murray

• Ming (1980)
• Home (1981)
• Murray's Steps (1982)

With Material / Bill Laswell

• Memory Serves (1981)
• The Third Power (1991)

With Sly & Robbie / Bill Laswell

• Rhythm Killers (1987)

With Carlinhos Brown / Bill Laswell

• Bahia Black: Ritual Beating System (1991)

With Leroy Jenkins

• Themes & Improvisations on the Blues (1992)

With Kip Hanrahan

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

With Billy Bang

• Hip Hop Be Bop (1993) with Craig Harris
• Vietnam: Reflections (2005)

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

• The Great Lakes Suites (2012, released 2014)
• The Chicago Symphonies (2021)

With Jack DeJohnette

• Made in Chicago (ECM, 2013 [2015]) with Muhal Richard Abrams, Larry Gray and Roscoe Mitchell