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Tyrone Allen II
Trusted on the bandstand, in concert halls, the studio, and the pit orchestras of Broadway, Tyrone Allen II has become one of the most sought - after bassists on the New York City scene and a generational talent on the global stage. Since 2018, his work has been recognized by The New York Times, JazzTimes, WBGO, and he was named a Rising Star Bassist in the 2025 DownBeat Critics Poll. He has performed, recorded, and toured worldwide with creative luminaries including Sullivan Fortner, Tyshawn Sorey, and Nicole Glover, and currently holds the bass chair for the 10-time Tony Award–winning Broadway production Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
With the release of his debut LP UPWARD on Dreams and Fears Records, Tyrone steps forward with a singular compositional voice and band-leading prowess. Featuring an expanded iteration of TAiiQ (the Tyrone Allen II Quartet), the album provides a glimpse into his artistic vision — marking a new chapter in an already stunning career.
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Sullivan Fortner: Leave That In There
by Pierre Giroux
Sullivan Fortner has never been an artist short on ideas. But Leave That In There feels different. It is the sound of a musician who has distilled everything he has absorbed from his deep well of Gulf South upbringing, from the piano giants and from spirituals and street parades, into his own language. It is easily his most personal record to date, a musical scrapbook of memories, ancestry, humour, grief, and resilience. The title draws on Spike Lee's ...
Continue ReadingSullivan Fortner: Leave That In There
by Andrew Schinder
Pianist Sullivan Fortner is on a roll. Already one of the most respected contemporary jazz pianists, Fortner leveled up in 2025 with the Grammy-winning Southern Nights (Artwork Records, 2025), a tribute to his New Orleans heritage that was a critical and commercial smash. Along with the collaboration albums Wildflowers Vol. 1 (Edition Records, 2024) (with vocalist Kurt Elling) and Play (ACT Music, 2025) (with trumpeter Theo Croker) and playing to packed houses both as a leader and accompanist, the year was an unqualified success. ...
Continue ReadingTyshawn Sorey: Members... Don't!
by Troy Dostert
One of the most welcome developments in twenty-first century jazz has been drummer Tyshawn Sorey's enthusiastic turn toward the jazz canon. While he had already established himself convincingly as one of the premier figures in creative music on immersive, challenging works such as The Inner Spectrum of Variables (Pi Recordings, 2016) and Verisimilitude (Pi Recordings, 2017), when Sorey decided to begin his idiosyncratic interrogations of classic jazz repertoire it opened up new facets of his musical identity, especially as an ...
Continue ReadingTyshawn Sorey: Members... Don't!
by Mike Jurkovic
Pulitzer Prize-winning, MacArthur Fellow Dr. Tyshawn Sorey may not remember 1968 directly, since he was born in 1980, but he most certainly and unapologetically understands how angry that year was. And he has captured that fiery time with an epic reimagining? rethinking? rebooting? double take of Max Roach's epic telling of that year after the Summer of Love, Members, Don't Git Weary (Atlantic, 1968) Recorded live at the tail end of a four-day stay at the Jazz Gallery ...
Continue ReadingNicole Glover: Memories, Dreams, Reflections
by Angelo Leonardi
Nel suo nuovo album per l'etichetta Savant la sassofonista Nicole Glover conferma la scelta del formato pianoless col bassista Tyrone Allen II e il batterista Kayvon Gordon. L'unica variazione riguarda l'ospite che non è più il vibrafonista Steve Nelson ma il violoncellista Lester St. Louis, aggiunto in un paio di brani. Alcune diversità si aggiungono nelle scelte stilistiche, esemplificate forse dal titolo (che riprende quello dell'autobiografia di Carl Gustav Jung, il noto psicoanalista svizzero): a differenza del precedente (estroverso e ...
Continue ReadingJames Danderfer: If Not Now
by Pierre Giroux
Clarinetist James Danderfer's If Not Now showcases warmth and craftsmanship. It is the kind of album that affirms jazz's enduring ability to blend tradition with personal expression. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's legendary Englewood Cliffs studio on November 4, 2024, the album features a select group including Steve Davis on trombone, Cory Weeds on tenor saxophone, Atley King on vibraphone, Miki Yamanaka on piano, Tyrone Allen II on bass, and drummer Kush Abadey. All nine compositions are by Danderfer, forming ...
Continue ReadingJames Danderfer: If Not Now
by Jack Bowers
The clarinet, which once was commonplace in jazz (think Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Pee Wee Russell, Tony Scott, Buddy DeFranco, Jimmy Giuffre, Pete Fountain, Bob Wilber and many others), is all but absent these days save for a handful of adamant diehards such as Paquito D'Rivera, Eddie Daniels, Don Byron and Ken Peplowski. That is one reason why it is always a pleasure to welcome a new voice into the choir, especially one as sharp and talented as ...
Continue Reading"In terms of inventiveness, instrumental skill, groove, and sheer energy, Tyrone is an exceptional talent." - Musica Jazz
