Pyeng Threadgill | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, United States | November 14, 1977
Genres | Blues, soul blues, jazz |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 2000s–present |
Pyeng Dubra Threadgill (born November 14, 1977) [1] is an American blues, jazz and soul blues singer, songwriter and record producer. [2] Her father is the bandleader and composer, Henry Threadgill, and her mother is Christina Jones, a dancer and choreographer. Threadgill has released three albums, beginning in 2004 with Sweet Home: Pyeng Threadgill Sings Robert Johnson.
Threadgill was born in the Lower East Side of New York City, United States, to parents Henry Threadgill and Christina Jones, a founding member of the dance group Urban Bush Women. [2] She attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music studying classical music and graduating with a BA in Music. [3] [4] Keen on a career as a singer, she was cast in her teenage years in avant-garde dance and theater. Threadgill stated, "I remember one of my close friends and I used to make a game of seeing who could write a song fastest." [5] She was awarded the Mellon Fellowship to study music in Brazil. [4]
In 2004, Threadgill obtained her first recording contract and released her debut album, Sweet Home: Pyeng Threadgill Sings Robert Johnson, via the independent record label, Random Chance Records. [5] The album contained covers of 11 Robert Johnson songs, all set in different musical genres. [2] Threadgill stated at the time that "I wanted each song to be different; otherwise what would be the point?" [6] A year later, her second album Of The Air, included a cover of the Cure's "Close to Me". [7] She followed the release with a tour of Europe. [5] She performed regularly at various New York venues before relocating to Berkeley, California. [7]
Threadgill has headlined the Fillmore Jazz Festival's Ellis Street stage, [8] and appeared at the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Detroit Institute of The Arts, and the Sun Side Jazz Club in Paris, France. In 2006, Threadgill was a featured player in a documentary film starring Youssou N'Dour, entitled Retour à Gorée and directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud. [3]
After several years of performing and raising her daughter, Threadgill wrote and developed a work based on short stories by authors including Jamaica Kincaid and Bruno Schulz. The song cycle, entitled Portholes to a Love & Other Short Stories, led to her being granted a 2008 Fellowship in music composition through the New York Foundation for the Arts. [5] It became the basis of her third album, self-released in 2009. [3] In 2010, Threadgill performed at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival.
Since then, Threadgill has explored other musical-based interests including work with the pianist Marc Cary, as well as theater projects. [5]
Year | Title | Record label |
---|---|---|
2004 | Sweet Home: Pyeng Threadgill Sings Robert Johnson | Random Chance Records |
2005 | Of The Air | Random Chance Records |
2009 | Portholes to a Love & Other Short Stories | Stray Dog Music |
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