The Squid's Ear Magazine

Threadgill, Henry & Zooid

In for a Penny, In for a Pound [2 CDs]

Threadgill, Henry & Zooid: In for a Penny, In for a Pound [2 CDs] (Pi Recordings)

Henry Threadgill's new epic work in four movements written specifically to feature each of the musicians in Zooid: "Ceroepic" for Elliott Kavee (drums), "Dosepic" for Christopher Hoffman (cello), "Tresepic" for Jose Davila (trombone & tuba), and "Unoepic" for Liberty Ellman (guitar).
 

Price: $18.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units


EU & UK Customers:
Discogs.com can handle your VAT payments
So please order through Discogs

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Henry Threadgill-alto saxophone, flute

Liberty Ellman-guitar

Jose Davila-trombone, tuba

Christopher Hoffman-cello

Elliot Humberto Kavee-drums


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 808713005820

Label: Pi Recordings
Catalog ID: PI 58
Squidco Product Code: 20400

Format: 2 CDs
Condition: New
Released: 2015
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded at Systems Two Recording Studios in Brooklyn, New York, on December 8th and 9th, 2014 by Michael Marciano.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"In for a Penny, In for a Pound is the latest installment in saxophonist/ flutist/composer Henry Threadgill's ongoing exploration of his singular system for integrating composition with group improvisation. The music for his band Zooid, his main music-making vehicle for the past fourteen years and the longest running band of his illustrious forty plus-year career, is no less than his attempt to completely deconstruct standard jazz form, steering the improvisatory language towards an entirely new system based on preconceived series of intervals. His compositions create a polyphonic platform that encourages each musician to improvise with an ear for counterpoint and, in the process, creating striking new harmonies.

Threadgill is widely considered to be among the most important artists in jazz. The New York Times called him "one of the most thrillingly elusive composers in and around the jazz idiom: a sly maestro of unconventional timbres, bristling counterpoint and tough but slippery rhythms" and NPR called him "a true idiosyncratic great." He is a founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding this year, and continues to adhere to one of that august organization's basic tenets: that of finding on's individual path through original music. Threadgill continues to challenge himself to create music that is pushing the boundaries for what is possible.

The new work, which Threadgill calls an "epic," includes four main movements written specifically to feature each of the musicians in Zooid: "Ceroepic" for Elliott Kavee on drums and percussion, "Dosepic" for Christopher Hoffman on cello, "Tresepic" for Jose Davila on trombone and tuba, and "Unoepic" for Liberty Ellman on guitar. They are introduced by an opening shorter piece and sandwich an exordium ("In for a Penny, In for a Pound" and "Off The Prompt Box," respectively.) Threadgill's own alto saxophone, flute and bass flute is woven throughout each section. In for a Penny, In for a Pound utilizes, as with all of his music for Zooid, a strategy of Threadgill's own device: a set of three note intervals assigned to each player that serves as the starting point for improvisation. While this may seem simple on the surface, the juxtaposition of the notes played on each instruments alternately meld and clash, creating surprising chords and harmonies on-the-spot. Not held together by any chordal preconceptions, the result is true, improvised four-part polyphony. Of this music, Liberty Ellman, who will release Radiate, his first new album as a leader since 2006's Ophiuchus Butterfly later this year, says: "Henry is extending the forms and writing more varied thematic material. There is even more dynamic and timbral contrast with ensemble vignettes turning to sparse monologues or group improvisation on the turn of a dime." Zooid is certainly the only group able to perform these compositions since they involve a wholly different way of engaging in group improvisation. Thoroughly attuned with each other, the band continues to provide Threadgill with the foundation to expand on his ever evolving musical inspirations.

In all the discussion about the complex terrain of his compositions, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of Threadgill's power as a player. In his review of Zooid's performance at the Village Vanguard in 2014, the first time Threadgill had played at that iconic venue as a leader in almost 25 years, critic Ben Ratliff of the New York Times, who chose it as one of his top ten top concerts of the year, wrote: "The intensifying strokes… were his alto saxophone solos. They were built of epigrammatic phrases, aligned with the moving intervals but pivoting off from them. They were out in front, gestural, actorly, elegant, noisy and tragic. Dealt in short segments, their essence could be absorbed piece by piece, as if he were feeding you with crumbs. They'd often end without traditional resolution, but with a sense of something serious hanging in the air." A great Threadgill solo sets you on edge: you know that it's going to be a jab, an uppercut or a body blow, but you never know how or when it's going to hit you. It's the same way with his compositions on In for a Penny, In for a Pound: it comes at you from every angle, at different speeds, in infinite combinations. That's the beauty of Threadgill's music for Zooid: that sense of constant surprise."-Pi Recordings

Also available on vinyl LP.

Artist Biographies

"Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer, saxophonist and flautist, who came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres.

Threadgill studied at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, majoring in piano, flute, and composition. He studied piano with Gail Quillman and composition with Stella Roberts. He has been a bandleader and composer for over forty years. He was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his composition In for a Penny, In for a Pound, which premiered at Roulette Intermedium on December 4, 2014

Threadgill 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."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Threadgill)
11/29/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Based in Brooklyn New York, guitarist / composer Liberty Ellman has performed and or recorded with a host of stand out creative artists including: Joe Lovano, Myra Melford, Wadada Leo Smith, Butch Morris, Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman, Greg Osby, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Nels Cline, Somi, Matana Roberts, Ledisi, Michele Rosewoman, Adam Rudolph, Josh Roseman, Barney McAll, Okkyung Lee, Steven Bernstein, Ben Goldberg and John Zorn. In 2014 Ellman worked with Jason Moran on Luanda Kinshasa, a video installation by visionary filmmaker Stan Douglas.

Mr. Ellman is perhaps best known for his long tenure in Henry Threadgill's groundbreaking ensemble, Zooid. The group has recorded several critically lauded albums. Their most recent recording "In For A Penny, In For A Pound" earned a Pulitzer prize for Mr. Threadgill. In addition to playing guitar, Mr. Ellman is credited as producer and mixing engineer on that recording. He has mixed and mastered many other recordings as well, including Gregory Porter's "Be Good," which was nominated for a Grammy.

Ellman has released 4 of his own critically acclaimed albums: Orthodoxy, Tactiles, Ophiuchus Butterfly, and 2015's Radiate on Pi Recordings. His compositional style has been described as "At once highly controlled and recklessly inventive," and the Wall Street Journal said: "Ellman, along with his peers, is helping to define post millennial jazz." Voted #1 Rising Star Guitarist in the 2016 Downbeat Critics Poll, he was also honored in the 2015 Jazz Times expanded critics poll, as one of the four guitarists of the year alongside Bill Frisell, John Scofield and Julian Lage.

Liberty Ellman has also worked beyond the jazz world: hip hop artists Midnight Voices, and The Coup, dance producer DJ Joe Claussell, and worked on remixes of N'Dea Davenport, Chico Freeman, Ann Dyer, Ayo and others. He also made an appearance on the Grammy nominated Groove Collective record, People People Music Music."

-Liberty Ellman Website (http://www.libertyellman.com/bio/)
11/29/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Tuba player and trombonist Jose Davila is a versatile New York-based musician whose work spans across a broad spectrum of musical genres; everything from traditional to cutting-edge jazz, to salsa and classical music. He is currently a member of Henry Threadgill's Zooid and bands led by guitarist Liberty Ellman and alto saxophonist Steve Lehman. His work with both Threadgill and Ellman extends the tuba from its traditional role as part of the rhythm section to a front-line solo voice. His playing can also be heard on the Grammy-nominated salsa recording "Un Gran Dia en el Barrio” from the Spanish Harlem Orchestra and "Remembranzas” and "Siguendo la Tradicion” from Soneros del Barrio.

Davila has also worked in the bands of Ray Charles, Andrew Hill, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Marc Anthony, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Anderson, Butch Morris, Ted Nash, along with the Lincoln Center Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and the American Symphony and New York City Opera Orchestras.

A native of Puerto Rico who was raised on the East Coast, Jose received his formal musical training from the University of Connecticut and Mannes College of Music."

-Pi Recordings (https://pirecordings.com/artist/Jose_Davila)
11/29/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Christopher is a cellist, composer, producer, engineer and filmmaker. He currently performs in Henry Threadgill's Pulitzer Prize winning ensemble Zooid, Anat Cohen Tentet, Kenny Warren Trio, Tony Malaby, Michael Blake, Darius Jones and his own projects. He has worked with Martin Scorsese, Yoko Ono, Bleachers, Iron & Wine, Ryan Adams, Marianne Faithfull, Michael Pitt & Pagoda, Marc Ribot, Butch Morris, Lee Konitz, Rudy Royston, Anna Webber, Ryan Scott, Anthony Coleman, Jeremiah Cymerman & many others."

-Christopher Hoffman Website (https://www.christopherhoffman.com/new-page-1)
11/29/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Elliot Humberto Kavee has performed/recorded ground-breaking new music with Omar Sosa, Joseph Jarman, Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman, Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, Francis Wong, Ben Goldberg, John Tchicai, Glenn Horiuchi, Elliot Sharp, Tim Berne, Jon Jang, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer, and his own projects. Before moving to New York, he was the drummer of choice among the San Francisco Bay Area's most gifted creative musicians, playing on over 40 critically acclaimed recordings. In addition, Kavee was a musician, composer, musical director, actor and writer with the Tony award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe for seven years - the only musical director in the group's 40 year history to win a dramalogue award. He was a percussionist, cellist and composer with the Club Foot Orchestra, who performed their score for G.W. Pabst's Pandora's Box at Lincoln Center. His collaboration with Asian-American Jazz pioneer Francis Wong has yielded 20 recordings and countless performances. As a founding member of the trail-blazing Omar Sosa Sextet, Kavee recorded four CD's and has toured the world. For his debut recording as a solo performer (on Eliasound records), "not only did Kavee make his skin and metallic percussion instruments sing by effecting a polytimbral/polyrhythmic approach, he further mixed up the program by doubling on cello. (Yes: drums and strings, one player, at the same time.")"- SF Weekly

-SF Weekly (https://pirecordings.com/artist/Elliot+Humberto_Kavee)
11/29/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



CD 1



1. In For A Penny, In For A Pound (Opening) 4:35

2. Ceroepic (For Drums And Percussion) 19:37

3. Dosepic (For Cello) 16:00

CD 2



1. Off The Prompt Box (Exordium) 3:35

2. Tresepic (For Trombone And Tuba) 17:26

3. Unoepic (For Guitar) 17:57

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
NY Downtown & Jazz/Improv
Quintet Recordings
Pi Records
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Top Sellers and Staff Lists for 2015

Search for other titles on the label:
Pi Recordings.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Attias, Michael (Attias / Leibson / Pavolka / Ferber / Hoffman)
Quartet Music Vol. I: LuMiSong
(Out Of Your Head Records)
With an ear to detail, Michaël Attias spent a year mixing and refining these four tracks, recorded after a post-pandemic concert at Barbes in Brooklyn, bringing to light four intricately melodic compositions performed with Michael Attias on alto sax, Santiago Leibson on piano & Wurli, Matt Pavolka on bass, Mark Ferber on drums and Christopher Hoffman on cello.
Hoffman, Christopher (feat. Henry Threadgill / Anna Webber)
Vision Is The Identity [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)
Returning to the electronic jazz approach of his album Multifariam, cellist Christopher Hoffman, composing with the core trio of Frank LoCrasto on keyboards and Bill Campbell on drums, is joined by luminaries such as Henry Threadgill, Ryan Scott, Anna Webber, and Alfred Colón on select tracks, releasing a lyrically compelling album that draws on a diverse range of influences.
Attias, Michael (Attias / Leibson / Pavolka / Ferber / Hoffman)
Quartet Music Vol. I: LuMiSong [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)
With an ear to detail, Michaël Attias spent a year mixing and refining these four tracks, recorded after a post-pandemic concert at Barbes in Brooklyn, bringing to light four intricately melodic compositions performed with Michael Attias on alto sax, Santiago Leibson on piano & Wurli, Matt Pavolka on bass, Mark Ferber on drums and Christopher Hoffman on cello.
Warren, Kenny (Warren / Hoffman / Ellman)
Sweet World [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)
New York trumpeter Kenny Warren leads a trio with cellist Christopher Hoffman and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell through eighteen Warren compositions that draw on diverse musical elements from around the globe — without being 'world music' — crafting succinct, creatively engaging works marked by eclectic references, unconventional time signatures, and a free-flowing lyrical spirit.
Swell's, Steve Imbued With Light
Hommage a Galina Ustvolskaya
(Silkheart)
Continuing his series of hommages to classical composers, New York trombonist Steve Swell assembles his sextet to improvise under the influence of Russian composer Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006), whose truly unique "out of the box" approach to structuring sound brings force and intensity to Swell's compositions, yielding inspired performances from all musicians.
Attias, Michael (Attias / Leibson / Pavolka / Ferber / Hoffman)
Quartet Music Vol. I: LuMiSong [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)
With an ear to detail, Michaël Attias spent a year mixing and refining these four tracks, recorded after a post-pandemic concert at Barbes in Brooklyn, bringing to light four intricately melodic compositions performed with Michael Attias on alto sax, Santiago Leibson on piano & Wurli, Matt Pavolka on bass, Mark Ferber on drums and Christopher Hoffman on cello.
Hoffman, Christopher (feat. Henry Threadgill / Anna Webber)
Vision Is The Identity [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)
Returning to the electronic jazz approach of his album Multifariam, cellist Christopher Hoffman, composing with the core trio of Frank LoCrasto on keyboards and Bill Campbell on drums, is joined by luminaries such as Henry Threadgill, Ryan Scott, Anna Webber, and Alfred Colón on select tracks, releasing a lyrically compelling album that draws on a diverse range of influences.
Lewis, James Brandon / Red Lily Quintet
For Mahalia, With Love [VINYL 2 LPs]
(Tao Forms)
Composer and tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis' exceptional Red Lily Quintet quintet (Kirk Knuffke on cornet; William Parker on bass; Chad Taylor on drums; Christopher Hoffman on cello) pays homage to gospel and jazz singer Mahalia Jackson through a suite of original Lewis compositions, reimagining some of Jackson's best known works; CD & LP issues include a bonus download track.
Lewis, James Brandon / Red Lily Quintet
For Mahalia, With Love [2 CDs]
(Tao Forms)
Composer and tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis' exceptional Red Lily Quintet quintet (Kirk Knuffke on cornet; William Parker on bass; Chad Taylor on drums; Christopher Hoffman on cello) pays homage to gospel and jazz singer Mahalia Jackson through a suite of original Lewis compositions, reimagining some of Jackson's best known works; CD & LP issues include a bonus download track.
Hoffman, Christopher
Asp Nimbus [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)
Outer sleeve has some damage to corners, vinyl is in mint condition.
Hoffman, Christopher
Asp Nimbus [VINYL]
(Out Of Your Head Records)
With many parallels to and collaborative work with Henry Threadgill, cellist Christopher Hoffman pens eight dynamic compositions for his superb quintet of Bryan Carrott on vibraphone, Rashaan Carter on bass, Craig Weinrib on drums and David Virelles on piano, merging melodic approaches to creative jazz with interesting structures and virtuosic soloing from all performers.
Webber, Anna
Clockwise
(Pi Recordings)
Wind player and composer Anna Weber pays homage to 20th Century composers' works for percussion, using Xenakis, Feldman, Varese, Stockhausen, Babbitt & Cage as influences in compositions leaving room for improvisation from her septet of Jeremy Viner (sax & clarinet), Jacob Garchik (trombone), Christopher Hoffman (cello), Matt Mitchell (piano), Chris Tordini (bass), and Ches Smith (drums).
Sinton's, Josh Predicate Trio (w / Chris Hoffman / Tom Rainey)
Making Bones
(Iluso)
Concentrating on the lower reeds, baritone saxophone and bass clarinetist Josh Sinton's Predicate Trio brings the best of New York's Downtown improv scene through drummer Tom Rainey and cellist Christopher Hoffman, the album opening with a submerged baritone solo leading to seven original Sinton compositions and two uniquely mischievous and informed collective improvisations.
Threadgill, Henry 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg
Dirt... And More Dirt
(Pi Recordings)
Composer, saxophonist and flutist Henry Threadgill presents 2 full-length works for his 15 piece band "14 or 15 Kestra: Agg", as he explores new ways of integrating composition with group improvisation, here using an entirely new system of improvisation based on preconceived series of intervals realized in multi-layered counterpoint, rigorous polyphony, and timbral contrasts.
Malaby's, Tony TubaCello
Scorpion Eater
(Clean Feed)
NY saxophonist Tony Malaby's latest album was recorded with his most consistent collaborators--tubist Dan Peck, cellist Christopher Hoffman, and drummer/percussionist John Hollenbeck--in an album of energetic improv with a unique timbral configuration.
Fox, Billy
The Uncle Wiggly Suite
(Clean Feed)
Fieldwork
Your Life Flashes
(Pi Recordings)
Other Recommended Releases:
Threadgill, Henry Ensemble
The Other One
(Pi Recordings)
Composed by Henry Threadgill based on his observations of the exodus of people from New York City during the Covid pandemic and the debris left behind, this work titled "Valence" and dedicated to percussionist Milford Graves, is a chamber jazz piece in three movements was taken from recordings at Roulette of the second of two performances entitled "One" and "The Other One".
Threadgill, Henry Zooid
Poof
(Pi Recordings)
The sixth album in saxophonist and composer Henry Threadgill's Zood small ensemble project Zooid, a quintet with guitarist Liberty Ellman, tuba & trombonist Jose Davila, cellist Christopher Hoffman and drummer Elliot Humberto Kavee, following Threadgill's serial intervallic language compositions to create an amazingly intricate yet warmly embraceable avant jazz; exceptional!
Ellman, Liberty
Last Desert
(Pi Recordings)
Guitarist/composer Liberty Ellman's album takes its name from the four deserts--Atacama in South America, the Gobi in China, the Sahara in Egypt, and the "White Desert" of Antarctica--in seven sophisticated compositions performed with Steve Lehman on alto sax, Stephan Crump on bass, Damion Reid on drums, Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, and Jose Davila on tuba.
Threadgill, Henry
Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus
(Pi Recordings)
Composer Henry Threadgill's Double Up band does not include Threadgill himself, but for this second release with the group he adds a 3rd piano (also doubling on harmonium) alongside two alto saxophones, cello, tuba, drums and percussion, the octet performing Threadgill's complex yet effortlessly intricate and distinctive compositions that allow his performers to shine.
Threadgill, Henry Ensemble Double Up
Old Locks and Irregular Verbs
(Pi Recordings)
Henry Threadgill's tribute to friend, composer-conductor Lawrence D. Butch Morris, in a detailed 4-part work with an excellent set of improvisers: Henry Threadgill, Jose Davila, Jason Moran, Christopher Hoffman, David Virelles, Roman Filiu, Curtis Macdonald, and Craig Weinrib.
ElSaffar, Amir Two Rivers Ensemble
Crisis
(Pi Recordings)
NY trumpeter Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers Ensemble, exploring the juncture between jazz and music of the Middle East through sophisticated and lyrically stunning music, here focusing on revolution, civil war, and sectarian violence; a culture's struggle for survival.
Coleman, Steve & the Council of Balance
Synovial Joints
(Pi Recordings)
Composer and alto saxophonist Steve Coleman in a superb modern jazz album, written by applying characteristics of human synovial joints to compositional process, and using "camouflage orchestration" to orchestrate players into the fore-, middle- and background.
Sorey, Tyshawn Trio
Alloy
(Pi Recordings)
Drummer Tyshawn Sorey's trio with bassist Christopher Tordine and pianist Cory Smythe in an album dedicated to Butch Morris and to his mother; intelligent and pensively restrained through-composed jazz influenced by modern composition as much as the history of the jazz trio.
Ribot, Marc Trio
Live At The Village Vanguard
(Pi Recordings)
Marc Ribot's highly anticipated debut as a leader in a band with Henry Grimes on bass and Chad Taylor on drums, performing at the iconic Village Vanguard, with material including Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, &c.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC