Henry Threadgill's Zooid in Philadelphia

[LWayne]

While in Philadelphia last week on business, I was fortunate to be able to attend a rare concert by Henry Threadgill's Zooid. Apparently Threadgill had not been in Philadelphia for ten years, but certainly had an eager audience awaiting him at a sold-out International House. The venue itself provided an interesting back-drop as it serves as a residence for students from all over the world matriculating to over twenty different colleges in the Philadelphia area.

Apparently the concert was the last in a series of "Ancient to the Future" performances paying tribute to 40 years of creative music by the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, Inc.). The series marking the fortieth anniversary of the AACM previously hosted concerts by Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, and Leroy Jenkins/ Myra Melford.

A "Zooid" is "an organic cell capable of independent movement or several cells forming a colony". This definition accurately described the creative, often bizarre, but certainly challenging music that was performed as well. The unusual grouping of two cellos, tuba, guitar, drums and alto sax/ flute certainly made for some intriguing voicings and proved to be a very visceral performance that grooves and swings on its own terms.

This version of Zooid consisted of both Dana Leong and Rubin Kodheli on cello, Jose Davila on tuba, Liberty Ellman on guitar, Elliot Humberto Kavee as well as the leader on flute and alto sax. Leong, Kodelhi and Davila weaved a complex tapestry for the other musicians to layer their own elongated harmonics. The resulting sound is a very dense amalgam of chamber jazz, ethnic and classical influences, orchestrated to intrigue and beguile the listener. This very original creative music constantly shifted direction and shapes revealing undercurrents, dimensions, and textures that alternately challenged and rewarded the listener.

LWayne