Where's Your Cup?

Henry Threadgill | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 1997)
• Original Release Date: April 22, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Columbia
• ASIN: B000002BK3
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,895 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. 100 Year Old Game

2. Laughing Club

3. Where's Your Cup?

4. And This

5. Feels Like It

6. The Flew

7. Go to Far

Editorial Reviews

From Jazziz

Henry Threadgill's Where's Your Cup?, his last recording for Columbia, is the most recent document of the evolution of a band, a sound - a sonic world that is Threadgill's, and which is in constant flux. The members of Threadgill's ensemble here, Make a Move - Tony Cedras on harmonium and accordion, Brandon Ross on guitars, Stomu Takeishi on electric bass, and J. T. Lewis on drums - will each continue to assert themselves in a variety of imaginative musical contexts. On "Laughing Club," Lewis' drum solo leads us into one of Threadgill's compelling themes, with his searing alto sax blazing the way. And the view is expansive - by century's end, Threadgill had delved deeply into South American, African, and Indian traditions.

--- JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful though Strange CD, September 21, 2000

By 

Stephen (Virginia Beach, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where's Your Cup? (Audio CD)

Threadgill can always be counted on for odd instrumental combinations and this is certainly no exception. While some of his Cds are all over the place this one is quite coherent.

Threadgill employes an excellent band including guitarist Brandon Ross and Drummer J T Lewis (Check out their band Harriet Tubman) and the great Accordian/Harmonium player Tony Cedras who has also done excellent work with Pharoah Sanders.

All the compositions are lengthy (most around 8-10 minutes) and quite strong. 100 Year Old Game is a favorite for me.

If you're new to Treadgill, I'm not sure if there is a good place to start, but this is probably as good as any since it is the most readily available of his works.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No one like him, May 23, 2000

By 

George Grella "Urbane citizen" (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where's Your Cup? (Audio CD)

Henry Threadgill is one of the most innovative and personal composers in jazz history. He's always been conscious of the jazz tradition, more than even someone like Wynton Marsalis [his early band, Air, was devoted to play pre- and 1920s era jazz in a modern context], and he's been mercurial in stretching himself and that tradition. After his seven member Sextett, and his two-tuba band Very Very Circus comes this stellar group. This should be his most popular and accessible record, and it's still uncomprimising.

Under a sheen of a great, tight almost rocking group sound, Threadgills tunes stretch into unexpected melodic and structural areas, even the ballads, which are lovely and expressive. The players are never afraid to extend themselves into some free territory, if that's what is called for, but the means and purpose is always clear. If you like adventurous modern jazz and rock, you will LOVE this record!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Composed jazz is worth every note, July 13, 2009

By 

J. GARRATT - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Where's Your Cup? (Audio CD)

"Where's Your Cup?" is a personal favorite of mine. Too me it's almost like the "OK Computer" of post-bop jazz. The lead-off track, "100 Year Old Game," lures me into a mental game of "whaaa?" almost every time. The song works immaculately but I don't understand how he got to that point with just pencil and paper. Composed jazz can really be an uncredited wonder of the world at times, and the auspicious start to "Where's Your Cup?" fails to strike me as anything less than that each and every time I hear it.

Numerous songs do follow a formula to kick-start them, usually in the form of a solo performance from someone. A one-minute drum solo rollicks "Laughing Club" into a more delicate existence. The accordion gets to push off "100 Year Old Game" and "And This" and songs like "Go To Far" and the title track feel like they are just sort of nudged into starting, proving that the art of the standard jazz chart is a quaint little antique in the vast mind of Henry Threadgill. Yes, I am in awe of this man and this dang album of his continues to haunt me. I don't want to worship musicians and composers anymore, I feel like I outgrew any perceptions of infallibility LONG ago. But along comes Mr. Threadgill. Enter my difficulty getting to sleep with the inner workings of "100 Year Old Game" in my head.