Soaring With Henry Threadgill : Jazz: Only a sparse audience shows up for the great composer’s set at Marla’s.

Henry Threadgill is one of the most respected contemporary jazz artists. Down Beat magazine’s readers and critics have selected him as best jazz composer in recent years and his reviews have been unfailingly glowing. He’s even been the subject of a Dewar’s White Label ad.

Why is it then, that his opening-night performance at Marla’s Supper Club on Friday was greeted by a house that was, at best, half full? Part of the answer may lie in the ironic fact that the club’s sound system played nonstop Kenny G records prior to Threadgill’s appearance.

It was a curious lead-in for an ensemble--two tubas, two electric guitars, French horn and drums, along with the leader’s alto saxophone and flute--that demanded as much as it gave. Unlike the hugely popular works of Kenny G, Threadgill’s music--with its rich emotional and intellectual rewards--requires patient and open-minded listening.

The pieces, which merged into each other with the feeling of a musical suite, ranged from an opening, saeta -like march to several joyous explosions of collective improvisation overflowing with the explosive energy of classic New Orleans jazz.

Threadgill’s soloing served as the focal point of the set; his loose-limbed lines, clearly an extension of the Ornette Coleman style, were unstoppable, soaring above and through an almost physically turbulent ocean of sound.