Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He has performed and recorded with several ensembles: Air, Aggregation Orb, Make a Move, the seven-piece Henry Threadgill Sextett, the twenty-piece Society Situation Dance Band, Very Very Circus, X-75, and Zooid.
Pi Recordings is a jazz record label founded by Seth Rosner in 2001. He was soon joined as partner by Yulun Wang. Pi specializes in avant-garde jazz. Its first two albums were by Henry Threadgill.
Stomu Takeishi is a Japanese jazz bass player. He generally plays fretless five-string electric bass guitar, as well as a Klein five-string acoustic bass guitar. He often uses looping or other electronic techniques to enhance the sound of his instrument.
Liberty Ellman is a jazz guitarist born in London and raised in the United States, beginning in New York City. In the early 1980s, Ellman's family moved to California. Before leaving New York, he attended City and Country School in Greenwich Village.
When Was That? is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the About Time label in 1982. The album and features five of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill with Craig Harris, Olu Dara, Fred Hopkins, Brian Smith, Pheeroan akLaff and John Betsch.
Spirit of Nuff...Nuff is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the Black Saint label in 1991 produced by Flavio and Giovanni Bonandrini. The album and features seven of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill's Very Very Circus with Curtis Fowlkes, Brandon Ross, Masujaa, Marcus Rojas, Edwin Rodriguez, and Gene Lake.
Where's Your Cup? is an album by Henry Threadgill released on the Columbia label in 1996. The album features seven of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill's Make a Move band - Brandon Ross, Tony Cedras, Stomu Takeishi, and J.T. Lewis.
Everybodys Mouth's a Book is an album by Henry Threadgill featuring eight of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill & Make a Move. The album was the first album on the Pi Recordings label and was released simultaneously with Up Popped the Two Lips by Threadgill's Zooid in 2001.
Up Popped the Two Lips is an album by Henry Threadgill featuring seven of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill's Zooid. The album was the second album on the Pi Records label and was released simultaneously with Everybodys Mouth's a Book by Threadgill & Make a Move in 2001.
This Brings Us to Volume 1 is an album by Henry Threadgill featuring six of Threadgill's compositions performed by Threadgill's Zooid. The album, Threadgill's first in eight years besides the limited edition Pop Start the Tape, Stop (2005), was released on the Pi Recordings label in 2009.
Backatown is an album released by jazz musician Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews. The album was released in 2010 by Verve Forecast Records and was produced by Galactic's Ben Ellman. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart and was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
Quake is a 2003 album by cellist Erik Friedlander which was released on the Cryptogramophone label featuring the quartet that previously appeared on Topaz.
Memorophilia is the debut studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, which was recorded in 1995 and released on the Asian Improv label.
In for a Penny, In for a Pound is an album composed by Henry Threadgill for his jazz quintet Zooid, featuring Jose Davila, Liberty Ellman, Christopher Hoffman, and Elliot Humberto Kavee. It was released by Pi Recordings and was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Old Locks and Irregular Verbs is an album by American jazz saxophonist Henry Threadgill, which was recorded in 2015 and released on Pi Recordings. It features an extended work that Threadgill composed as a tribute to cornetist and composer-conductor Lawrence D. Butch Morris, who died in 2013. Morris and Threadgill were old friends and colleagues on the New York City jazz scene; they both performed on Ming (1980) by David Murray. Threadgill formed a new band for the occasion named Ensemble Double Up, a septet where he doesn't play, but instead conducts.
Your Life Flashes is the debut album by Fieldwork, a collective trio consisting of Aaron Stewart on tenor saxophone, Vijay Iyer on piano, and Elliot Humberto Kavee on drums, which was recorded in 2002 and released on Pi Recordings.
Simulated Progress is the second album by Fieldwork, a collective trio consisting of Vijay Iyer on piano, Elliot Humberto Kavee on drums, and Steve Lehman on alto and sopranino saxophone replacing former saxophonist Aaron Stewart, which was recorded in 2004 and released on Pi Recordings.
Tactiles is an album by jazz guitarist Liberty Ellman, which was recorded in 2003 and released on Pi Recordings. He leads a quartet with Mark Shim on tenor sax, Stephan Crump on bass and Eric Harland on drums. The album also features alto saxophonist Greg Osby on three tracks.
Ophiuchus Butterfly is an album by jazz guitarist Liberty Ellman, which was recorded in 2005 and released on Pi Recordings. He leads a sextet with Steve Lehman on alto sax, Mark Shim on tenor sax, Jose Davila on tuba, Stephan Crump on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums.
Tomorrow Sunny / The Revelry, Spp is an album by American jazz saxophonist Henry Threadgill with his band Zooid, featuring Jose Davila on trombone and tuba, Liberty Ellman on guitar, Stomu Takeishi on bass guitar, Elliot Humberto Kavee on drums, and new member Christopher Hoffman on cello, who joined the group making it a sextet. It was recorded in 2011 and released on Pi Recordings.
