Although his roots lie in jazz, blues, and gospel, saxophonist Henry Threadgill is one of the most important avant-garde composers of our time. Even at the age of 75, he is still pushing boundaries. You can hear echoes of African music, Latin, folk, and even opera in his compositions. Born in Chicago, Threadgill worked with avant-garde jazz icons like Anthony Braxton, David Murray, and Bill Laswell. Since 2000, he has been garnering attention with his progressive quintet Henry Threadgill’s Zooid. In this group, Threadgill isn’t afraid to disrupt the ambience with a cheeky wink and throw himself with abandon into an improvisation. This results in exciting, but at the same time accessible, and above all swinging music. In 2016, Threadgill was awarded the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Music for the album In For A Penny, In For A Pound. A remarkable achievement given that Ornette Coleman and Wynton Marsalis are the only other jazz musicians to ever win the prize.
