1988 · Album
Easily Slip Into Another World
Recorded 1987 · RCA Novus · Produced by not credited in available sources
Threadgill's World of Composed Invention
A saxophonist unafraid to write for cello and flugelhorn, creating something genuinely odd and alive.
When Easily Slip into Another World arrived in 1988, critics paid attention right away. The Philadelphia Inquirer gave it four stars, and AllMusic reviewer Stephen Cook recognized it as essential entry point to Threadgill's catalog, calling it a fine introduction to one of jazz's best and most underrated composers. That's not hyperbole — Threadgill had been playing and writing seriously for years, but this RCA Novus release caught him at a moment of creative clarity.
The band here is deliberately unusual. Henry Threadgill on clarinet rather than his famous saxophone, Frank Lacy on flugelhorn, Diedre Murray on cello — these choices aren't novelty gestures. Murray's cello becomes a fundamental voice in the ensemble, neither doubled nor ornamental, pushing the harmony in directions a conventional frontline would never reach. Fred Hopkins on bass and the dual drums of Pheeroan akLaff and Reggie Nicholson create a rhythm section that's anchored but restless, never settling into autopilot swing. Rasul Siddik on trumpet rounds out a five-piece that sounds like nothing else in jazz.
Threadgill's compositions drive everything here — no standards, no blowing vehicles. Each piece is structured, sometimes densely, always with purpose. The music doesn't announce itself as profound or difficult; it simply insists on being heard on its own terms. That's the real subject: a working jazz composer who trusts his own ear completely.
Who's playing
Fred Hopkinsbass
Rasul Siddiktrumpet
Pheeroan akLaffdrums
Reggie Nicholsondrums
Frank Lacyflugelhorn
Diedre Murraycello
Henry Threadgillclarinet
Where next?
More by Henry Threadgill
All 14 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
