Pyeng Threadgill: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|American singer-songwriter (born 1977)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

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| alias =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1977|11|14}}

| birth_place = New York City, United StatesU.S.

| instrument = Vocals

| genre = [[Blues]], [[soul blues]], [[jazz]]

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'''Pyeng Dubra Threadgill''' (born November 14, 1977)<ref name="bare">{{cite book| first1= Bob| last1= Eagle| first2= Eric S.| last2= LeBlanc| year= 2013| title= Blues – A Regional Experience| publisher= Praeger Publishers| ___location= Santa Barbara| pages=263 | isbn= 978-0313344237}}</ref> is an American [[blues]], [[jazz]] and [[soul blues]] singer, songwriter, and record producer.<ref name="AMG"/> 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''.

==LifeEarly life and careereducation==

Threadgill was born inon the [[Lower East Side]] of New York City, United States,[[Manhattan]] to parents Henry Threadgill and Christina Jones, a founding member of the dance group [[Urban Bush Women]].<ref name="AMG"/> She attended the [[Oberlin Conservatory of Music]] studying classical music and graduating with a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA in Music]].<ref name="Agency"/><ref name="Discogs"/> 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."<ref name="Pillsbury"/> She was awarded the [[Andrew W. Mellon Foundation|Mellon Fellowship]] to study music in Brazil.<ref name="Discogs">{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/716800-Pyeng-Threadgill |title=Pyeng Threadgill Discography |website=Discogs.com |date= |access-date=2017-03-09}}</ref>

== Career ==

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.<ref name="Pillsbury" /> The album contained [[Cover (music)|covers]] of 11 [[Robert Johnson]] songs, all set in different musical genres.<ref name="AMG">{{cite web|author=Thom Jurek |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/sweet-home-pyeng-threadgill-sings-robert-johnson-mw0000330351 |title=Sweet Home: Pyeng Threadgill Sings Robert Johnson – Pyeng Threadgill &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] |date= |access-date=2017-03-09}}</ref> Threadgill stated at the time that "I wanted each song to be different; otherwise what would be the point?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jazztimes.com/departments/hearsay/pyeng-threadgill/|author=John Murph|title=Pyeng Threadgill|website=Jazztimes.com|access-date=2017-03-09}}</ref> A year later, her second album ''Of The Air'', included a cover of [[the Cure]]'s "[[Close to Me (The Cure song)|Close to Me]]".<ref name="Last">{{cite web|url=https://www.last.fm/music/Pyeng+Threadgill/+wiki |title=Pyeng Threadgill's Biography — Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and photos |website=Last.fm |date= |access-date=2017-03-09}}</ref> She followed the release with a tour of Europe.<ref name="Pillsbury" /> She performed regularly at various New York venues before relocating to [[Berkeley, California]].<ref name="Last" />

Threadgill has headlined the Fillmore Jazz Festival's Ellis Street stage,<ref>{{cite web|author=Neva Chonin |url=http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/REVIEW-Singer-Pyeng-Threadgill-bridges-classic-2493430.php |title=REVIEW / Singer Pyeng Threadgill bridges classic, contemporary jazz with an easy subtlety |website=[[SFGate]] |date=2006-07-04 |access-date=2017-03-09}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Agency"/>

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]].<ref name="Pillsbury"/> It became the basis of her third album, self-released in 2009.<ref name="Agency">{{cite web|url=http://www.mmmusicagency.com/pyeng-threadgill.html|title=Pyeng Threadgill at the Maurice Montoya Music Agency|website=Mmmusicagency.com|access-date=2017-03-09}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Pillsbury">{{cite web|url=http://pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org/nov-22-pyeng-threadgill/ |title=November 22 / Pyeng Threadgill – Pillsbury House Theatre |website=Pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org |date= |access-date=2017-03-09}}</ref>