2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music winner Henry Threadgill

For over forty years, jazz luminary Henry Threadgill has been celebrated as one of the most forward-thinking composers and multi-instrumentalists in American music. Hailed by The New York Times as “perhaps the most important jazz composer of his generation,” Threadgill challenges both himself and his listeners with unusual instrumentation and complex-yet-playful compositions. He was recently awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Music at age 73 for his outstanding double album In for a Penny, In for a Pound — a recording written for his quintet, Zooid. The group of improvisers, who have played together for 15 years, are fittingly comfortable and in tune as a quintet. It’s a special pleasure for us to present Henry Threadgill’s Zooid at Big Ears next month.