He then jumped out of his seat and asked for a piece of paper from a store employee. On the scrap he began to illustrate some of the ideas of the modernist composer Edgardo Varèse about pitch inversions, an approach he also describes near the end of “Easy Slip” in which he wrote “The Other One” showed how he builds on Varese’s example. “
After filling the paper with sequences of tonal and melodic phrases, Threadgill attempted to trash the notes, as the latter were constructed from Morse-code-like patterns of long and short phrases.
i stopped him Maintaining the way Threadgill works is no easy task. Throughout “Easily Slip” there are intriguing references to vintage orchestral recordings that have not yet been released to the public. Some important collaborations, such as concerts with Cecil Taylor, are not preserved in fixed media at all.
Threadgill hopes to solve some of these problems.One of his orchestral recordings in his possession may finally see the light of day on the website, currently under construction, called Baker’s Dozen, a portal that we plan to provide to other artists who own valuable unreleased tapes. (He mentioned minimalist pioneer Terry Riley as a potential source of material for the site.)
‘The Other One’ is a great addition to Threadgill’s discography, but the film version deserves more widespread exposure. The show showcases his sense of humor that tended to emerge during the show whenever he discussed photographs taken of abandoned possessions on the streets of New York City early in the pandemic. He said he is now sending the documentary to various festivals “to see what it can do.”
It looks like other projects in the works are going to be as unconventional as ever. Threadgill said he was impressed by the progress collaborators and acquaintances like Anthony Davis and Terrence Blanchard had made in mainstream opera, but he said the world wasn’t really for him. He said it was a world without
Instead, Threadgill plans what he calls a “depraved oratorio,” with two choirs, a “traditional choir and a gospel choir,” plus pianos, organs and other instruments. ing. “I don’t like ready-made shapes,” he said. “I like to create new shapes.”
