''Air Song'' is the debut album by the improvisational collective

Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

featuring

Henry Threadgill Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He h ...

Steve McCall Stephen Harold McCall (born 15 October 1960) is an English retired footballer who now works as a scout for Carlisle United. A defensive midfielder during his playing days, McCall built a reputation as a cultured midfield player, with immacul ...

, and

Fred Hopkins Fred Hopkins (October 11, 1947 – January 7, 1999) was an American double bassist who played a major role in the development of the avant-garde jazz movement. He was best known for his association with the trio Air with Henry Threadgill and Ste ...

performing four of Threadgill's compositions.Backstrom, L. & Lopez, R
Henry Threadgill discography
accessed February 10, 2010 The album was originally released on the Japanese

Why Not Why Not may refer to: Film and TV * ''Why Not? with Shania Twain'', an American TV show * ''Pourquoi pas!'' (''Why Not!''), a 1977 French film starring Sami Frey * ''Why Not?'', a 2019 short thriller movie directed by Buğra Mert Alkayalar Musi ...

label in 1975 and later released in the U.S. on

India Navigation India Navigation was an American record company and independent record label that specialized in avant-garde jazz in the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded by Bob Cummins, a corporate lawyer who helped jazz musicians with legal matters. Its catalogu ...

in 1982.

Reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' selected this album as part of its suggested Core Collection, stating: "''Air Song'' was the first release and still stands up well, four longish compositions by Threadgill whose quirky deployment of minimal themes and areas of activity gave the trio plenty to work with". The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review by Thom Jurek commented: "The interplay between the three members is almost always inventive, engaging, and full of warmth and humor. There is little excessive indulgence to be found on these improvisations, and the degree of musicianship with these men is off the chart... A lovely and auspicious debut".Jurek, T.

Allmusic Review AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the data ...

accessed February 10, 2010.

Track listing

:''All compositions by Henry Threadgill'' # "Untitled Tango" – 12:08 # "Great Body of the Riddle or Where Were the Dodge Boys When My Clay Started to Slide" – 13:29 # "Dance of the Beast" – 11:03 # "Air Song" – 12:17 #* Recorded at P.S. Recording Studios, Chicago on September 10, 1975

Personnel

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

(track 1),

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

(track 2),

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

(track 3),

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

(track 4) *

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

References

{{Authority control 1975 debut albums Air (free jazz trio) albums India Navigation albums Whynot Records albums