JD ALLEN PRESS KIT JD ALLEN tenor saxophonist [email protected] www.myspace.com/jdallen11 Publicity: Kim Smith Public Relations 718 858 2557 [email protected] JD ALLEN B I O Hailed by the New York Times as "a tenor saxophonist with an enigmatic, elegant and hard-driving style," JD Allen is a bright rising light on today’s international jazz scene. His unique and compelling voice on the instrument – the result of a patient and painstaking confrontation with the fundamentals of the art - has recently earned Allen a blaze of critical attention signaling his ascension to the upper ranks of the contemporary jazz world. Originally from Detroit, Allen’s apprenticeship, anchored by his lengthy tenure with Betty Carter, occurred largely in New York, where he worked with legends Lester Bowie, George Cables, Ron Carter, Louis Hayes, Frank Foster Big Band, Winard Harper, Butch Morris, David Murray, Wallace Roney. He added his voice to that of his contemporaries as well; Cindy Blackman, Orrin Evans, Meshell Ndegeocello, Dave Douglas, Jeremy Pelt, Gerald Cleaver and Nigel Kennedy continue to call upon him to augment their musical visions. JD's debut album, In Search Of... (Red Records, 1999), won him the Best New Artist award in Italy, and reviewers praised him for his compositions and conceptual boldness. His second release, Pharoah’s Children (Criss Cross, 2002), again won him accolades for its thoughtfulness, maturity, and adventurousness. One of Jazziz Magazine's Critics Picks Top 10 Albums of the Year, the album was widely praised in the U.S. and Europe. In 2008 Allen began an association with Sunnyside Records, which released I AM – I AM featuring Gregg August (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums) and garnered rave reviews from the New York Times (Ben Ratliff’s Playlist ), Time Out NY (music cover), All About Jazz, Jazzman, Jazz Wise and Downbeat. That year Allen was awarded Rising Star Tenor Saxophone in the 56 th Annual Downbeat Critics Poll and appeared on NPR's Jazz Perspectives, WNYC's Soundcheck and WKCR's Musician's Show. In 2009, Allen released his follow-up Sunnyside recording, “Shine!” which seems to have detonated the trail of musical gunpowder he had long been putting down. Word-of- mouth praise for the album led Lorraine Gordon, owner of the famed and historic Village Vanguard to invite him and his trio for a weeklong stint. The engagement was met with relentless coverage from the cultural press: Time Out NY selected his engagement as its top musical attraction for that week; he appeared on WNYC’s Leonard Lopate Show; his work was again discussed by Ben Ratliff on jazz journalist Josh Jackson’s radio show; and the New York Times reviewed his residency, commending Allen for his trio’s “fearless approach to a formidable tradition.” J D A l l e n DISCOGRAPHY RECORDINGS JD Allen Trio, VICTORY! Sunnyside Records, 2011 Jeremy Pelt, The Incredible Mr. Pelt 2011 Rufus Reed, TBD 2011 JD Allen Trio, SHINE! Sunnyside Records, 6/09 JD Allen Trio, I AM – I AM Sunnyside Records, 4/08 Jeremy Pelt, November Max Jazz, July 2008 Gerald Cleaver , Detroit Fresh Sound Records, 2007 Nigel Kennedy Blue Note Sessions Blue Note/EMI, 2006 Orrin Evans, Easy Now Criss Cross, 2005 Lucien Ban, The TUBA Project CIMP, 2005 Cindy Blackman , Music For The New Millenium Sacred Sound Records, 2005 Eric Revis , Tales of A Stuttering Mime 11:11 Records, 2004 Red Records All-Stars , Red Stars Red, 2003 Russell Gunn , Blue On The DL Savant, 2002 JD Allen Quintet , Pharoah’s Children Criss Cross, 2001 Orrin Evans, “THE BAND” Live @ Widener University Imani, 2001 Cindy Blackman , Someday High Note, 2001 Fabio Morgera , Colors Red, 2000 Duane Eubanks , Second Take TCB Records, 1998 Elisabeth Kontomanou , Embrace Steeplechase, 1998 Fabio Morgera , Slick Red, 1998 Cindy Blackman , Works on Canvas High Note, 1999 Winard Harper Quintet , Trap Dancer Muse, 1998 JD Allen Quintet , In Search Of… Red, 1996 Winard Harper Sextet , Winard Muse, 1996 EDUCATION Betty Carter’s JAZZ AHEAD Program , New York, NY, 1991 University of Michigan Music Program , Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1991 Hampton University, Music Education Major , Hampton, Virginia, 1991 Northwestern High School, Detroit Michigan, 1987-1991 *Toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East SELECTED PRESS "...a tenor titan..." JAZZTIMES "...a tenor saxophonist with an enigmatic, elegant and hard-driving style..." BEN RATLIFF, THE NEW YORK TIMES "...a muscular and harmonically adventurous tenor saxophonist..." NATE CHINEN, THE NEW YORK TIMES "...a tenor saxophonist of enviable heft..." THE VILLAGE VOICE "...a superior tenorist..." K. LEANDER WILLIAMS, TIME OUT NEW YORK "...deep-thinking, very serious minded..." JAZZWISE LIVE LINKS FROM TV & NPR JD Allen on WNBC’S GOOD DAY NEW YORK , JUNE 13, 2010 http://www.nbcnewyork.com/aroundtown/events/Summerstage_Jam_in_Studio_7E__New_York.html JDA3 :: NPR "LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD" (Live audio/video broadcast from Wed, 8/12, 9pm set) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111774598 BEN RATLIFF & JOSH JACKSON Listening Session for "SHINE!" on WBGO’s The Checkout http://www.wbgo.org/thecheckout/?p=990 JDA3 :: Live on WNYC’s Leonard Lopate Show (8/12/09) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nzy9jfiQPI 2009 YEAR-END HONORS JD Allen, tenor / Gregg August, bass / Rudy Royston, drums *Photo courtesy of John Rogers for WBGO SHINE! Critics Pics Top 50 Albums of 2009 http://jazztimes.com/articles/25461-critics-picks-top-50-new-albums-and-top-10-historical- releases BEST MUSIC OF 2009: ‘Take Five’s’ TOP 10 JAZZ RECORDS OF 2009! Artist: J.D. Allen Trio | Album: Shine! | Song: Marco Polo http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121096843 Tenor saxophonist JD Allen has a concept, but little of the usual fuss accompanying the "conceptual." He challenges his trio to make simple tunes come alive quickly; his compositions sound as if he's plucked the choicest bits of classic period John Coltrane , then scrambled and reconstituted them as dense, two- to five-minute snack foods. Catchy, even hummable, Allen's nuggets also feel harmonically open, and with that great liberty comes great responsibility for the rhythm section. Happily, Gregg August (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums) are a perfect match. Their hailstorms of sound (with hurricane eyes for the ballads) keenly envelop rather than drown out their leader's saxophone tessellations. It makes for an addictive brew, as administered in potent, bite-sized doses. - by Patrick Jarenwattananon 2009: THE YEAR OF LIVING IMPROVISATIONALLY BY JOSH JACKSON (#4) Artist: JD Allen Trio | Album: Shine! | Song: Sonhouse http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121271694 In the crowded field of tenor saxophonists in jazz, thirtysomething JD Allen has been, remarkably, hiding in plain sight. On Shine , his second straight trio recording, Allen and company hit their stride. They make sax/bass/drum combinations resonate. Each composition says what needs to be said, and finishes without proselytizing. Rudy Royston and Gregg August play an urban-sophisticate style of drum and bass, leaving plenty of room for Allen to swoop, slash and ring an emphatic affirmative. JAZZ POLL WINNERS: TOP ALBUMS OF THE YEAR ( SHINE! #9) http://www.chicagoreader.com/TheBlog/archives/2009/12/30/village-voice-jazz-poll-winners- announced Top Jazz Albums for 2009: JD ALLEN “Shine!’’ by Steve Greenlee http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/12/20/steve_greenlees_top_jazz_albums_for_20 09/ The tenor saxophonist’s sensibility comes out of bop’s heyday, but his pianoless trio’s approach feels thoroughly fresh, and he emphasizes economy; songs run two to five minutes, a blink of an eye in jazz these days. The Best Jazz Recordings of 2009 by John Chacona http://www.johnchacona.com/?p=358 J.D. Allen Trio Shine! (Sunnyside) In a good year for tenor sax-bass-drums trios, the young Detroiter’s effort – and terrific band – commanded attention Lament For A Straight Line JIM MACNIE’S 10 BEST CD’S OF 2009 http://lamentforastraightline.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/10-best-jazz-cds-of-2009/ There were several terrific tenor trio discs this year (don’t miss Marcus Strickland ’s Idiosyncrasies , and Fly ’s Sky & Country ) but Allen’s boasted the kind of aggression didn’t hide the lyricism he’s been nurturing for a decade. The concept – finding profundity in pith – helped distinguish the sometimes sweet, sometimes roiling music as well. Almost all these tunes are fit for whistling. Jazzhouse Diaries DAVID ADLER’S BEST OF 2009 LIST http://www.jazzhouse.org/diary/2009/12/david-r-adler-top-25-of-2009-plus/ BILL MILKOWSI’S TOP 100 FOR 2009 http://www.jazzhouse.org/diary/2009/12/bill-milkowskis-top-100-30-for-2009/ BEST MUSIC OF 2009 ‘Take Five’s’ TOP 10 JAZZ RECORDS OF 2009! http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121096843 Take Five's Top 10 Jazz Records Of 2009 JD Allen Trio Artist: J.D. Allen Trio Album: Shine! Song: Marco Polo Tenor saxophonist JD Allen has a concept, but little of the usual fuss accompanying the "conceptual." He challenges his trio to make simple tunes come alive quickly; his compositions sound as if he's plucked the choicest bits of classic period John Coltrane , then scrambled and reconstituted them as dense, two- to five-minute snack foods. Catchy, even hummable, Allen's nuggets also feel harmonically open, and with that great liberty comes great responsibility for the rhythm section. Happily, Gregg August (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums) are a perfect match. Their hailstorms of sound (with hurricane eyes for the ballads) keenly envelop rather than drown out their leader's saxophone tessellations. It makes for an addictive brew, as administered in potent, bite-sized doses.