Reviews

• Henry Threadgill’s “Easily Slip into Another World” is a riveting memoir that encapsulates the essence of a life lived with unbounded creativity and resilience. Threadgill’s narrative, while steeped in the complexities of musical terminology, offers a profound exploration of his journey from a mischievous child to a legendary composer and multi-instrumentalist. Threadgill’s recounting of his childhood is infused with a palpable energy. His early years, marked by mischief, are skillfully redirected into the disciplined art of music. This transformation is not just a testament to his personal growth but also highlights the profound impact of his teachers who recognized and nurtured his potential. One of the most compelling aspects of the book is Threadgill’s vivid descriptions of his great-grandfather, whose wisdom and strength serve as a guiding light throughout his life. The memoir does not shy away from the darker chapters of his journey, including his time in Vietnam, the harrowing experiences with drugs, and the physical and emotional trauma of gonorrhea. These episodes are recounted with an honesty that is both raw and enlightening, offering readers a glimpse into the resilience required to overcome such ordeals. Threadgill’s tours across America are peppered with fascinating anecdotes, such as his encounters with tornadoes and the chaotic yet exhilarating life on the road. However, the narrative reaches new heights when Threadgill finds solace and inspiration in Goa, India. His performances in Mumbai and Delhi, particularly in the presence of Indira Gandhi, are described with a sense of awe and fulfillment, showcasing his ability to connect with diverse audiences across the globe. Interwoven with philosophical musings and life lessons, “Easily Slip into Another World” is not just a memoir but a profound meditation on life, art, and the relentless pursuit of one’s passion. For those unfamiliar with the world of music, some sections may be challenging, but Threadgill’s wisdom and storytelling prowess make this a truly inspiring read.

• Un bon livre sur un musicien que j'admire, et plutôt bien écrit aussi.

• I’ve been listening to Henry Threadgill’s music for many years. I always buy his album releases, and I have never been disappointed. He was an early member of the AACM (American Association of Creative Musicians), and in 2016 he won the Pulitzer for his album "In for a Penny, In for a Pound." Along with The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Roscoe Mitchell, he is my favorite AACM performer. From his arresting early work with Air through his many ensembles (Sextett, Very Very Circus, Make a Move, Zooid), Henry Threadgill has always tricked out my ears. While reading "Easily Slip into Another World," I’m taking the opportunity to listen again to his albums. Although I wasn’t able to get through them all before finishing the book, I remain as impressed with them as I ever was. Three quotations that reveal somethings about the author and the nature of the book: “Music is about listening. Nothing I can say can mean anything once you start to listen.” (259) “If you really need to know, I can tell you—for whatever it’s worth—that anything can go into my music. I get ideas from all sorts of sources. It might be going to the theater or looking at a painting or just watching a tree branch outside the window. It might be reading about the muddy intricacies of trench warfare during World War I or poring over The Book of Five Rings (Miyamoto Musashi’s seventeenth-century book on sword-fighting tactics) or looking at the novels of James Joyce or Heinrich Böll. Anything can seep into the music.” (259) Music is something that takes you into a dreamworld. A world where sound is matter and what matters is sound: everything is communicated and digested and comprehended in that form and that form alone. Not translated or approximated into something you can see or smell or taste or say—your senses start and end with what you can hear. (379) The title, "Easily Slip into Another World," comes from Henry Threadgill’s 1988 album. Slipping into another world is an act of transformation, a search for creativity that requires slipping away from old habits and behaviors. This book is in part an autobiography, a musical memoir, but it is more than anything a practical reflection on his own creative processes, his changing creative processes, over the course of his life. It is a great book. The book feels like it breaks into three parts: The first part is about growing up in Chicago and his early experiences with music. His descriptions remind me of what I have read about jazz in South Central Los Angeles after WWII, a hotbed of talent, music education, and opportunity. The southside of Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s was full of talented, entrepreneurial, open-eared musicians who benefitted from great music education (high schools, colleges, music schools) and plenty of opportunities to practice, collaborate, and perform. He was living at a right time and place, and he learned not only the history of jazz and western classical music but through a generational cohort of adventurous musicians who formed the AACM he learned the lifelong habit of searching for the new/aspiring to creativity. The second, quite lengthy section of the book is about his harrowing experiences in Vietnam. Threadgill tried to use music to avoid being sent to Vietnam, but a slightly adventurous arrangement he wrote for the band at Fort Leonard Wood got him in trouble and sent to Vietnam. Music takes a backseat in this section, and instead he focuses on all the horrific and harrowing experiences he suffered. It is amazing he survived. Initially, I thought that this section didn’t belong in the book, but I think it important to see how Threadgill’s musical talents and desires are overwhelmed by the war and his need to survive it. Also, Vietnam not only marked Threadgill but a whole generation of musicians who got stuck there. On his return, he notes all the musicians he works with who are Vietnam Vets. It is not clear, nor need it be, how Vietnam shaped Henry Threadgill’s creativity in its aftermath, but given the space that he gives to the war the impact had to have been significant. This section of the book reminded me that the jazz violinist, Billy Bang, released three albums, focused on his experiences in Vietnam. In the final part of the book, Henry Threadgill focuses on his career as composer and musician. If this section were a novel, I’d call it a künstlerroman, but it isn’t so I won’t. He does explore the many creative arcs that have made up his career. Given how often his music has changed over the years, both in terms how he composes and the make up of his many different bands (instruments, personnel), his discussions in this section helpfully illuminate his discography. Since my knowledge of musical terminology is a bit rusty, I’m glad that he keeps musical terms to a minimum. Still, he clearly communicates the how and why of his choices and procedures. He and Brent Hayes Edwards make a good writing team. His purpose here, though, is not to get into the nitty-gritty of his compositions or performances but to offer a general guide to his creative work as it shifts over time: finding creative possibilities, developing them, recognizing when he’s approaching the exhaustion of those possibilities, initiating the search for new creative possibilities, and so goes the cycle. Thus, Henry Threadgill slips from one creative world to another. I was happy to discover that Henry Threadgill is a curious and omnivorous knower and that his creativity is not narrowly musical but has pulled from his ever-broadening curiosity (see the second quotation above).

• Une autobiographie ancré dans son époque.

• Threadgill, un grande musicista, si racconta a tutto campo, alternando biografia a considerazioni di grande spessore artistico e musicale.

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