Henry Threadgill - You Know the Number

Henry Threadgill is a genius who speaks a unique yet instantly-recognizable language. He started as a member of Chicago's AACM and leader of the trio Air, with Fred Hopkins and Steve McCall. He is a stunning composer, and combines the best elements of densely written, structured compositions with free improvisation. This disc features a slightly unusual instrumentation by "normal" standards, though not as unusual as on some of Threadgill's other recordings. The lineup: Threadgill on bass flute and alto & tenor saxes, Rasul Sadik on trumpet, Frank Lacy on trombone, Diedre Murray on cello, Fred Hopkins on bass, and two drummers: Pheeroan Aklaff and Reggie Nicholson.

My favorite tune here is "Theme from Thomas Cole." It's a brilliantly written piece with a couple of quirky melody lines that play off each other. After the fanfare intro, the trombone and cello play the first line. The second line (played by sax and bass) falls on top of the first and fits into the spaces like puzzle pieces. "Good Times" is a gas-- it's fun to an almost embarrasing extreme. The final cut, "Those Who Eat Cookies" sounds like some kind of demented marching band, and illustrates another trademark of Threadgill's writing: thoroughly modern sounding music that has deep historical roots.

The playing on this disc is equally as brilliant as the compositions. Threadgill's solos are masterpieces of freedom within structure, Frank Lacy's trombone punches through walls, and the interplay between Diedre Murray and Fred Hopkins is telepathic. Sadik's trumpet cuts through the upper airways with pointed clusters of notes. And the two drummers, Nicholson and Aklaff, form a senstive yet powerful foundation.

This disc is one of my absolute favorite jazz CDs that I own. For some time it has been hard to track down the original RCA/Novus CD, but now I understand that Threadgill himself has reissued it himself on CD-Rs available directly from him or through Downtown Music Gallery. Grab it!!

Candid reissues rare albums from the Why Not label

Earlier this spring, I was excited to stumble upon a CD reissue of Air's first record Air Song in my local record shop. Previously this was only available as a Japanese import here in the US. If you are a fan of Air, Henry Threadgill, or any of the music coming out of the AACM and haven't heard this, do yourself a favor and pick it up. What a fantastic recording it is.

Next time I went back I was even more surprised to find this Chico Freeman CD reissue called Morning Prayer, from the same series. I had read about this one online (I think I found it through a search for Douglas Ewart, who plays on this) and I really wanted to hear it. This disc is really growing on me the more I play it. It's got a great vibe to it, somewhere between the freeness of the AACM and the soulfulness of Strata-East. The selection of tunes is diverse and the playing from everyone is outstanding. I was only slightly familiar with Freeman's playing, from a stunning India Navigation CD of ballads called Spirit Sensitive. This one is completely different, but extremely rewarding. Freeman is an interesting writer (all of the compositions here are his) and a dynamic player. And what a supporting cast! Henry Threadgill on saxophones, flute & percussion, Muhal Richard Abrams on piano, Cecil McBee on bass & cello, Steve McCall on percussion, Ben Montgomery on drums & percussion, and Douglas Ewart on flutes & percussion.

Some of the highlights here for me are Freeman's muscular tenor playing on "The In Between" and the quirky melody of "Conversations," which, as offbeat as it is, is incredibly catchy and will get stuck in your head after a few listens. Threadgill delivers an epic bari sax solo on this tune as well. The title track "Morning Prayer" is beautifully meditative and leads nicely into the upbeat closer "Pepe's Samba," and we also get an additional extended, previously unreleased version of this last one as well.

At this point there are two more reissues available in the Why Not series, Walt Dickerson's Tell Us Only the Beautiful Things and George Cables' Why Not?. I'm going to keep my eye out for these, particularly the Walt Dickerson as he is a personal favorite. More info on this series from Candid records can be found here.