JD Allen - Victory - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Time was when the use of any electronically-generated effects in an artist's work, would immediately brand you as a member of the avant-garde. Eventually, however, jazz embraced the modernism of electronics as people like Rashaan Roland Kirk, John Zorn and classical composers like Edgard Varèse took electronics down a less self-destructive and more communicative road. On THIS, tenor saxophonist and composer JD Allen explores the possibilities of electronics+jazz with a set of new compositions for himself, drummer Gwilym Jones and electronics effects wizard Alex Bonney. These works exhibit an astonishingly wide spectrum where you may find modal, blues-infused melodies juxtaposed against startling and provocative electronic effects. There can be a slim line in jazz between being a traditionalist troglodyte and being a radical visionary. On his latest recording, JD Allen has demonstrated that there is a musically satisfying and emotionally fulfilling middle ground.

JD Allen - Grace [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/23/2013

2019 . JD Allen's eighth recording for Savant Records finds the wildly inventive saxophonist returning to the sax-bass-drums playing with his usual sizzling intensity and unveiling new works which challenge preconceptions while engaging the listeners rather than alienating them. His colleagues, Ian Kenselaar and Nic Cacioppo are with him every step of the way, reveling in the exploratory compositions of their leader and rising to the challenges they bring. JD Allen was hailed by New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff as, Incha tenor saxophonist with an enigmatic, elegant and hard-driving style,Inch He has be the winner of Downbeat, JazzTimes & NPR polls in categories including NPR's Best Jazz of the Year, Tenor Saxophonist of the Year, Composer of the Year and Rising Star of the Year.