2018 · Album
Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus
Recorded 2018 · Pi Recordings · Produced by Henry Threadgill
Threadgill's Odd Ensemble Swings Again
Two pianists, a tuba, and a cellist share the stage on a Threadgill record that refuses to sound like anyone else.
Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus arrives from a bandleader who has spent decades building ensembles that don't sound like anyone else's. Henry Threadgill came up in the 1970s with groups rooted in jazz but unafraid of strange instrumentation, and this 2018 record carries that habit forward. The lineup is the first thing to notice: two pianists, a tuba, a cello, alto saxophone, and drums. That mix gives the music a sound with a lot of weight in the low end and plenty of room for the high lines to move around.
The pianists are where the album gets its character. David Bryant and Luis Perdomo split the keyboard duties in a way that keeps the textures shifting, one comping underneath while the other pushes melodic figures over the top. It is not a gimmick. It lets the band hold a tune in odd shapes without the harmony going mushy. Jose Davila's tuba anchors things with a bounce that a bass would never give you, and Christopher Hoffman's cello adds a dry, bowed edge that cuts through the piano thickness.
This is a solid, interesting Threadgill record rather than the place most people should start with. His most celebrated work is earlier and more firmly established. Listeners already curious about his ensemble writing will find plenty here, and it shows his method still working in 2018. If you want the cleanest entry point into his world, begin elsewhere and come to this one once the odd instrumentation stops sounding odd.
Who's playing
David Bryantpiano
Luis Perdomopiano
Curtis Macdonaldalto saxophone
Craig Weinribdrums
Jose Davilatuba
Román Filiúwoodwind
Christopher Hoffmancello
David Virelleskeyboard
Where next?
More by Henry Threadgill
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