Henry Threadgill - Poof (September 24, 2021)

For over forty years, Henry Threadgill has been celebrated as one of the most forward-thinking composers and multi- instrumentalists in American music. The New York Times has called him “perhaps the most important jazz composer of his generation.” Threadgill is a recipient of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Music for "In for a Penny, In for a Pound." Threadgill is an early member of the AACM.

1. Come And Go

2. Poof

3. Beneath The Bottom

4. Happenstance

5. Now And Then

Henry Threadgill – alto saxophone, flute, bass flute

Liberty Ellman – acoustic guitar

Jose Davila – tuba, trombone

Christopher Hoffman – cello

Elliot Humberto Kavee – drums

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JD Allen - Love Stone (SAVANT RECORDS June 15, 2018)

Tenor saxophonist JD Allen's output on Savant Records has been steady since his 2012 album The Matador and the Bull, and this beautiful and intensely interesting ballads album is an assured milestone in his career to date. There are patented JD-isms: that almost operatic-like swoon and smear of tone; deconstructed themes full of non-linearity and melodic asides arriving unforeseen. As in all of Allen's recordings, there is also a spare Chopin-like quality, with a shadowy, crepuscular character to much of the material. An album made up entirely of ballads requires a first-rate harmonic foundation and guitarist Liberty Ellman once again proves himself to be the most sensitive of accompanists, alternating between full harmonic richness and skittering, almost pointillistic lines which merely hint at the harmonies. The depth of Allen's timbre and phrasing is such that the absence of a keyboard is not really felt, and his quartet proves again that it is one of the most highly accomplished small groups in contemporary jazz.

1. Stranger in Paradise

2. Until the Real Thing Comes Along

3. Why Was I Born

4. You're My Thrill

5. Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies

6. Put on a Happy Face

7. Prisoner of Love

8. Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)

9. Gone with the Wind

JD Allen, tenor saxophone

Liberty Ellman, guitar

Gregg August, bass

Rudy Royston, drums

Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg - Dirt… And More Dirt (PI RECORDINGS May 12, 2018)

Comprised of two full-length works, Dirt… And More Dirt, is composed for Henry Threadgill’s band 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg, which features 15 musicians (guitar, bass, drummers (2), cello, tuba, alto saxophone (3), flute (2), trumpet (2), trombone (2), and piano (2). The works are part of Threadgill’s ongoing exploration for integrating composition with group improvisation, in particular an entirely new system of improvisation based on preconceived series of intervals. They bear the unmistakable stamp of all Threadgill compositions: complex forms, multi-layered counterpoint, rigorous polyphony, and timbral contrasts all wrapped up in a swirl of rhythmic convolution. The use of multiple horns and woodwinds on Dirt… vastly expands the music’s harmonic and tonal palette at Threadgill’s disposal, adding a much wider range of color, texture, and weight. At the age of 73, Threadgill remains at the peak of his powers, yet remains completely open to all possibilities in expanding and refining his craft.

1. Dirt - Part I

2. Dirt - Part II

3. Dirt - Part III

4. Dirt - Part IV

5. Dirt - Part V

6. Dirt - Part VI

7. And More Dirt - Part I

8. And More Dirt - Part II

9. And More Dirt - Part III

10. And More Dirt - Part IV

11. Credits

Henry Threadgill - alto saxophone, flute, bass flute

Chris Hoffman - cello

Liberty Ellman - guitar

Jose Davila - tuba

Ben Gerstein – trombone

Jacob Garchik – trombone

Jonathan Finlayson - Bb trumpet, F trumpet

Stephanie Richards –Bb trumpet

Curtis Robert Macdonald – alto saxophone

Roman Filiú - alto saxophone, alto flute

David Bryant - piano

David Virelles – piano

Thomas Morgan - bass

Elliott Humberto Kavee

Craig Weinrib - drums, percussion