Jazz Articles about JD Allen

JD Allen: Americana

by Franz A. Matzner
July 25, 2016

JD Allen is an artist who always delivers. He is also an artist who takes risks, willing to explore his limitations, and then break them; to expose his vulnerabilities, and reflect upon their source and meaning. His experimentation is not obvious. It spirals inwards, orbiting the central axis of jazz, while traversing its various trajectories with elegance, depth, and intense regard to produce deeply personal statements that draw in audiences and listeners like moths to flame. His latest ...

JD Allen: Graffiti

by Vincenzo Roggero
December 24, 2015

La carriera di JD Allen è sempre stata segnata dalle stigmate di appartenenza alla famiglia dei cosiddetti giovani leoni del mainstream, benché nel celebrato album di debutto per Red Record datato 1999--In Search of JD Allen--i segnali di una vivace curiosità e attenzione verso forme meno canoniche di jazz fossero ben presenti. In seguito al trasferimento dalla nativa Detroit a New York i contatti e le collaborazioni con un ampia schiera di musicisti dalle variegate collocazioni stilistiche--da Betty Carter a ...

Gregg August: Four by Six

by AAJ Italy Staff
June 11, 2013

Fattosi apprezzare e conoscere come componente del trio di JD Allen, il contrabbassista Gregg August porta avanti dal 2005 un percorso da leader, iniziato nel 2005 con Late August e proseguito con One Peace del 2007 e l'attuale Four by Six, inciso nell'estate 2011. Se i primi due lo vedevano a capo di sestetti, il titolo di questo lavoro allude all'alternarsi di due formazioni: un quartetto comprendente il sax soprano Sam Newsome, il pianista Luis Perdomo e il batterista EJ ...

Francisco Mora Catlett: Francisco Mora Catlett: Afro Horn MX

by Steve Bryant
September 16, 2012

When Afro-Mexican Drummer Francisco Mora Catlett first came to this country in the1970s, he dreamed of playing drums for the Sun Ra Arkestra. Not only did Mora achieve his dream, he also forged a lifelong relationship with drum legend Max Roach, which resulted in his performing in Roach's seminal drum ensemble, M'Boom. As a composer and bandleader in Detroit, Mora focused on creating Music of “The Afro-Americas," a vision which encompassed fusing the music of Cuba, Brazil with American modern ...

J.D. Allen: Victory!

by Dan Bilawsky
May 12, 2011

Many artists seem to move rapidly through different ensemble configurations, as if they're trying to finish off a career to-do list. While it's true that artistic reinvention using various instrumental formats--whether it be an organ group, big band project or Jazz Messengers-style outing--can help an artist gain notice in the trade magazines, using these formats as quick pit stops along the press trail can make for a shallow career that lacks in artistic depth. When an exceptional artist is willing ...

JD Allen Trio at Bohemian Caverns, February 27, 2010

by Franz A. Matzner
March 17, 2010

J.D. Allen Trio Bohemian Caverns Washington, DC February 27, 2010Saxophonist JD Allen's music is an outgrowth of the mystical and transcendental experimentation key jazz musicians undertook in the sixties and seventies. However, unlike many contemporary performers who explore this tradition as a stylistic choice, perhaps driven by admiration for Coltrane's sound, Allen's exploration of this style is founded in his personal experience, musical direction, and deep spiritual sense.

“When I am ...

J.D. Allen: Shine!

by Wilbur MacKenzie
August 4, 2009

Shine! is the second Sunnyside release by saxophonist JD Allen and his trio with bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston. A Detroit native, Allen has been based in New York for quite a few years now, working with bassist Ron Carter, saxophonist David Murray, trumpeter Lester Bowie and drummers Jack DeJohnette and Cindy Blackman. Allen's assertive tone and the openness of his orchestration maintain a distinct, focused directionality on each track. “Son House," “Marco Polo" and ...