Pyeng Threadgill

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Pyeng Threadgill
Born (1977-11-14) November 14, 1977 (age 46)
New York City, United States
GenresBlues, soul blues, jazz
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2000s–present

Pyeng Dubra Threadgill (born November 14, 1977)[1] is an American blues, jazz and soul blues singer, songwriter and record producer.[2] Her father is the bandleader and composer, Henry Threadgill, and her mother is Christina Jones, a dancer and choreographer. Threadgill has released three albums, beginning in 2004 with Sweet Home: Pyeng Threadgill Sings Robert Johnson.

Life and career

Threadgill was born in the Lower East Side of New York City, United States, to parents Henry Threadgill and Christina Jones, a founding member of the dance group Urban Bush Women.[2] She attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music studying classical music and graduating with a BA in Music.[3][4] Keen on a career as a singer, she was cast in her teenage years in avant-garde dance and theater. Threadgill stated, "I remember one of my close friends and I used to make a game of seeing who could write a song fastest."[5] She was awarded the Mellon Fellowship to study music in Brazil.[4]

In 2004, Threadgill obtained her first recording contract and released her debut album, Sweet Home: Pyeng Threadgill Sings Robert Johnson, via the independent record label, Random Chance Records.[5] The album contained covers of 11 Robert Johnson songs, all set in different musical genres.[2] Threadgill stated at the time that "I wanted each song to be different; otherwise what would be the point?"[6] A year later, her second album Of The Air, included a cover of the Cure's "Close to Me".[7] She followed the release with a tour of Europe.[5] She performed regularly at various New York venues before relocating to Berkeley, California.[7]

Threadgill has headlined the Fillmore Jazz Festival's Ellis Street stage,[8] and appeared at the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Detroit Institute of The Arts, and the Sun Side Jazz Club in Paris, France. In 2006, Threadgill was a featured player in a documentary film starring Youssou N'Dour, entitled Retour à Gorée and directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud.[3]

After several years of performing and raising her daughter, Threadgill wrote and developed a work based on short stories by authors including Jamaica Kincaid and Bruno Schulz. The song cycle, entitled Portholes to a Love & Other Short Stories, led to her being granted a 2008 Fellowship in music composition through the New York Foundation for the Arts.[5] It became the basis of her third album, self-released in 2009.[3] In 2010, Threadgill performed at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival.

Since then, Threadgill has explored other musical-based interests including work with the pianist Marc Cary, as well as theater projects.[5]

Discography

Albums

Year Title Record label
2004 Sweet Home: Pyeng Threadgill Sings Robert Johnson Random Chance Records
2005 Of The Air Random Chance Records
2009 Portholes to a Love & Other Short Stories Stray Dog Music

[9][10]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0313344237
    .
  2. ^ a b c Thom Jurek. "Sweet Home: Pyeng Threadgill Sings Robert Johnson – Pyeng Threadgill | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  3. ^ a b c "Pyeng Threadgill at the Maurice Montoya Music Agency". Mmmusicagency.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  4. ^ a b "Pyeng Threadgill Discography". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  5. ^ a b c d e "November 22 / Pyeng Threadgill – Pillsbury House Theatre". Pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  6. ^ John Murph. "Pyeng Threadgill". Jazztimes.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  7. ^ a b "Pyeng Threadgill's Biography — Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and photos". Last.fm. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  8. ^ Neva Chonin (2006-07-04). "REVIEW / Singer Pyeng Threadgill bridges classic, contemporary jazz with an easy subtlety". SFGate. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  9. ^ "Sweet Home: Pyeng Threadgill Sings Robert Johnson – Pyeng Threadgill | Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  10. ^ "Pyeng Threadgill – Of The Air (CD, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
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