Henry Threadgill Zooid This Brings Us To Volume II (CD)

This Brings Us To, Volume II is a 2010 CD by Henry Threadgill and his ensemble Zooid, situated in the lineage of avant‑garde jazz while drawing heavily on techniques associated with early twentieth‑century classical modernism. Critics have noted how Threadgill’s writing for Zooid uses a post‑serial, pantonal harmonic language reminiscent of composers like Schoenberg and Berg, but reimagined within a flexible, groove‑inflected context. The result is a hybrid musical world where intricate counterpoint, shifting meters and tightly organized improvisation create a continuous interplay between composition and spontaneity, placing the album at the crossroads of jazz and modernist classical music. The recording features Henry Threadgill as composer and performer on alto saxophone and flute, with Zooid’s long‑standing lineup of Liberty Ellman on acoustic guitar, José Dávila on trombone and tuba, Stomu Takeishi on acoustic bass guitar, and Elliot Humberto Kavee on drums. Their decade of collaboration yields an ensemble sound in which each line moves with apparent independence yet locks into a larger structural design, emphasizing color, texture and asymmetrical rhythm over conventional song form. This Brings Us To, Volume II stands as a concentrated statement of Threadgill’s mature language: abstract but rooted in pulse, rigorously constructed yet alive with improvisational risk, a chamber‑like exploration of jazz and classical modernism on a small‑group scale.

Pi This Brings Us To,Vol.2