Henry Threadgill Wins Music Pulitzer .....

Henry Threadgill calls his Pulitzer-winning piece, In for a Penny, In for a Pound, "an epic." - John Rogers/Courtesy of the Artist

Henry Threadgill Wins Music Pulitzer For 'In For A Penny, In For A Pound'

April 18, 20168:15 PM ET
Patrick Jarenwattananon, NPR Music

Henry Threadgill, a saxophonist and flutist known as one of the most original composers influenced by jazz, has been awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his recording In for a Penny, In for a Pound.


The jury described the piece as a "highly original work, in which notated music and improvisation mesh in a sonic tapestry that seems the very expression of modern American life." The recording was released as a 2-CD collection on Pi Recordings in 2015, and was listed among the Top 10 albums of the year in the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll.

Written for Threadgill's working quintet Zooid, In For A Penny includes four movements that each feature a different member — Jose Davila on trombone and tuba, guitarist Liberty Ellman, cellist Christopher Hoffman and drummer Elliot Humberto Kavee. Threadgill uses the literary term "epic" to describe each section, which can be approximately thought of as concerti, and also the entire work. It furthers an organizational method he has pursued for nearly 15 years with Zooid, which allows for contrapuntal improvisation within a specific intervallic framework.


"The group itself — these people have been with me 100 percent," Threadgill said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. "Zooid, this is the longest-running musical ensemble I've had. It's not about the number of years — it's about 100 percent to 150 percent that they give. So they were in for a penny, you see. And if you're in for a penny, you're in for a pound."

read more: http://puls.ly/qc-Cpg#http://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2016/04/18/474701928/henry-threadgill-wins-music-pulitzer-for-in-for-a-penny-in-for-a-pound?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=classical