Everybodys Mouths a Book

Henry Threadgill, Henry Threadgill And Make a Move | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 13, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Pi Recordings
• ASIN: B00005RTRW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #288,059 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Henry Threadgill is back!, November 17, 2001

By 

R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" (a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everybodys Mouths a Book (Audio CD)

"Everybody's Mouth's a Book" and "Up Popped the Two Lips" are his first releases in nearly 5 years ("Where's Your Cup?" came out in early 1997), and he maintains his high standards with more of the uniquely Threadgillian music he has been making since he formed his first Sextet back in the early 1980s. The sound is top-notch, with mixing by Bill Laswell.

"EMAB," which serves as a superb introduction to Threadgill for those new to his music, features a quintet of sax/flute, vibes, guitar, bass and drums. The instrumentation varies from piece to piece, some electric, others acoustic -- some with sax, others flute. The band carries the same name -- Make a Move -- as the band on 97's "Where's Your Cup?", but the substitution of vibes for accordion results in a quite different (and better!) sound. Brandon Ross on electric guitar provides some of the most exciting moments on this disc, and Dafnis Prieto drives things along in crackling fashion on trap drums. While both of the new records are excellent, this is the stronger of the two, in my opinion. Threadgill's music tends to be lugubrious, and "EMAB" offsets that with faster tempos and electricity, where "UPTL" tends to bog down periodically.

Threadgill has been mining the same distinctive sound for 20 years now, and it is still a rich vein. Threadgill's Air trio of the 70s, which came out of Chicago's AACM, explored the intersection of composition and free improv. The Sextet of the 80s and Very Very Circus of the 90s (with twin guitars and tubas!) both featured complex compositions that emphasized unusual textures, and utilized a dark, minor key harmonic palette, and these records do not mark a stylistic departure. There is improvisation, but it is tightly constrained. Threadgill has never been known primarily as a virtuoso alto soloist, rather his strength is as a composer and arranger. He utilizes rhythmic structures from Jellyroll Morton, sophisticated counterpoint, and subtle harmonic shifts that do not resolve. Threadgill was winning Best Composer awards from Downbeat Magazine back in the early/mid 90s at the time of "Too Much Sugar" (93), and "Carry the Day" (95), and he is certainly a contender again in 2001!

One of the best concerts I ever saw was the Henry Threadgill Sextet, 9/7/81 at the Underground Fest in Chicago, (the "afterfest" of the JazzFest, then in its second year), with Olu Dara on trumpet and Craig Harris on trombone (I still have the program!) I remember the walls of the near-West Side loft honoring Ellington and Mingus for the Sextet's performance, which at that time was a radical reincorporation of the past into the free jazz scene. They blew the roof off with wild collective improvisation -- I drove home the morning of the 8th as the sun was coming up, and have been a devoted fan of Henry Threadgill ever since!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just this once, March 7, 2007

By 

Boxodreams "[e-mail]" (district of columbia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Everybodys Mouths a Book (Audio CD)

I go out of my way not to denigrate artists to make a point about the greater value of another, but I'm going to do it just this once . . .
Two nights ago, I sat up late playing this Henry Threadgill album and it is as mesmerizing, penetrating and gorgeously realized as any collection of music I own. That it careens from the heartbreakingly reflective, pensive and lovely opener, a rumination with flute and vibes, and later digs into some fiery electric guitar that reminds me of the late Ted Dunbar in his brief stint with Tony Williams, just shows the breadth and scope of Threadgill. And it's free to a point but not cacophony. It's a special kind of logic that swings hot and cool. I love this album.
Tonight, I went down to the Kennedy Center for a free show by legends Benny Golson and Curtis Fuller. No one can dispute their credentials, music, contribution, what have you, but, my lord, they were tired, tired, tired. Killer Joe never sounded less killer in all his nightlife. So, I got to thinking, why can't the Kennedy Center -- or just about anybody -- make some room on the stage for Threadgill, who is as great as they come? Why must guys like this, on top of their game, be kept in the margins? Golson and Fuller are great, but somebody, please, bring the music of today to the people. I go to New York to hear jazz, but I don't know why I can't hear Henry Threadgill live. There used to be a club in d.c., where I saw the '80's band The Leaders, and Andrew Cyrille came in once or twice with a group, but where any of the more out there cats are today is a mystery to me. Maybe I need to keep my ear closer to the ground. Anyway, this album is an absolute find.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sharp jagged good listen, October 14, 2006

By 

Anthony Cooper (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everybodys Mouths a Book (Audio CD)

This CD opens up with the acoustic "Platinum Inside Straight". It's a beautiful, calming song, and features Henry Threadgill's flute. The rest of the CD is electric, and more jarring (though the flute returns). "Don't Turn Around" takes advantage of your softened-up ears with a convoluted groove, and a whole-note melody. I'll discuss this one a bit since it's one of the better songs, and shows Make A Move's method. Bryan Carrott comes in with a vibe solo, and Brandon Ross comps a little more loudly towards the end of the solo, since it's hard to "build" a vibe solo over a tricky groove. Threadgill returns with a sax solo, and then Ross plays an overdriven solo. In both cases, the band supports the soloist. The melody makes a brief return, and the song quickly fades out as Takeishi plays a short solo. Some of the remaining songs are as good, but Threadgill's compositions on this CD are a high-wire act. Sometimes they connect very well, sometimes they fall a little flat. The musicionship and group interplay give every song some value.