HENRY THREADGILL
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In 2016, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill received both the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his recording: “In for a penny, in for a pound” (Pi Records), and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. Both honors were well deserved.
Henry Threadgill, who came out of the imaginative environs of the ‘60s Chicago scene, possesses a brilliant creative mind and is one of the premier composers, thinkers and reedmen of our time. His level of creativity undiminished over more than three decades as a leader of various ensembles.
In many ways, Henry Threadgill is the quintessential freethinker who falls between the cracks of established categories like jazz, classical, or world music.
“I never did consider my music jazz. Jazz is part of my vocabulary, but I don’t do jazz specifically. I consider myself an international musician. The world is an international place, so I always felt my music should be marketed that way.” His 2015 album In for a Penny, In for a Pound won the 2016 Pulitzer prize and was described as a “highly original work in which notated music and improvisation mesh in a sonic tapestry that seems the very expression of modern American life (Pi Recordings)”.
His compositions demonstrate his experience in blues, gospel, Latin, jazz, classical music, reggae, polka and marching bands, integrating his global influences so smoothly into a singular, deeply personal style that can’t really be called eclectic.
“The latest stuff is geared toward the current reality of American life, especially urban American life. Everything’s constantly changing and I’ve always wanted my music to reflect that. The constant cultural shifts are unstoppable. People all over the world are in motion, and definitely consider that when I’m writing…
“The music of now and the music of tomorrow is the most important thing as far as I’m concerned. The music of yesterday was fine—it helped us to get here—but we should be focusing on synthesizing those experiences and going further.”
The Critics Speak:
“Sweet-and-sour, jazz-tango-Middle-Eastern-funk [from] one of our great composers.”
—The New York Times
”One of jazz's most admired innovators since the '70s and a pillar of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, multi-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill takes the stage with his slinky, utterly distinctive, and disarmingly engaging acoustic sextet, Zooid.” –The New Yorker
Awards and Honors:
2021: NEA Jazz Master
2016: Vietnam Veterens of America – Excellence in the Art Award
2016: Doris Duke Performing Artist Award
2016: Pulitzer Prize winner in Music: “In for a Penny, in for a Pound” (Pi Records)
2015: Doris Duke Impact Award
2015: ASCAP Wall of Fame
2015: AACM 50th Anniversay Celebration
2014: Harlem Stage Retrospective Tribue
2009: Aaron Copland House Award (First Black composer to receive the award)
2008: United States Artists Fellow
2003: Guggenheim Fellowship
1990: Best Composer honors Downbeat Magazine Critics poll
1989 & 1988: Best Composer honors Downbeat Magazine Critics & Readers polls
Henry Threadgill, who came out of the imaginative environs of the ‘60s Chicago scene, possesses a brilliant creative mind and is one of the premier composers, thinkers and reedmen of our time. His level of creativity undiminished over more than three decades as a leader of various ensembles.
In many ways, Henry Threadgill is the quintessential freethinker who falls between the cracks of established categories like jazz, classical, or world music.
“I never did consider my music jazz. Jazz is part of my vocabulary, but I don’t do jazz specifically. I consider myself an international musician. The world is an international place, so I always felt my music should be marketed that way.” His 2015 album In for a Penny, In for a Pound won the 2016 Pulitzer prize and was described as a “highly original work in which notated music and improvisation mesh in a sonic tapestry that seems the very expression of modern American life (Pi Recordings)”.
His compositions demonstrate his experience in blues, gospel, Latin, jazz, classical music, reggae, polka and marching bands, integrating his global influences so smoothly into a singular, deeply personal style that can’t really be called eclectic.
“The latest stuff is geared toward the current reality of American life, especially urban American life. Everything’s constantly changing and I’ve always wanted my music to reflect that. The constant cultural shifts are unstoppable. People all over the world are in motion, and definitely consider that when I’m writing…
“The music of now and the music of tomorrow is the most important thing as far as I’m concerned. The music of yesterday was fine—it helped us to get here—but we should be focusing on synthesizing those experiences and going further.”
The Critics Speak:
“Sweet-and-sour, jazz-tango-Middle-Eastern-funk [from] one of our great composers.”
—The New York Times
”One of jazz's most admired innovators since the '70s and a pillar of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, multi-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill takes the stage with his slinky, utterly distinctive, and disarmingly engaging acoustic sextet, Zooid.” –The New Yorker
Awards and Honors:
2021: NEA Jazz Master
2016: Vietnam Veterens of America – Excellence in the Art Award
2016: Doris Duke Performing Artist Award
2016: Pulitzer Prize winner in Music: “In for a Penny, in for a Pound” (Pi Records)
2015: Doris Duke Impact Award
2015: ASCAP Wall of Fame
2015: AACM 50th Anniversay Celebration
2014: Harlem Stage Retrospective Tribue
2009: Aaron Copland House Award (First Black composer to receive the award)
2008: United States Artists Fellow
2003: Guggenheim Fellowship
1990: Best Composer honors Downbeat Magazine Critics poll
1989 & 1988: Best Composer honors Downbeat Magazine Critics & Readers polls
For additional information contact: MM Music Agency
Phone: 212-229-9160, e-mail: maurice@mmmusicagency.com
