Recording of the Week, J.D. Allen, 'Americana Vol. 2'

J.D. Allen, the American saxophonist and composer, has been active for more than 25 years in numerous spheres of modern jazz, but more recently has been exploring the sounds of blues and his country’s historical canon with what is now a series of three albums. This year’s release, Americana Vol. 2, follows 2016’s Americana: Musings on Jazz and Blues and 2019’s Barracoon, drawing on similar thematic and compositional approaches. Particularly so on Americana Vol. 2, compositionally Allen almost totally eschews jazz structure in favour of a more raw, traditional blues approach; of course it’s not like these two styles are worlds apart, and these pieces provide Allen and his bandmates plenty of freedom for improvisation and tasteful interpretations of this musical tradition.

Allen’s touring trio has taken many forms over the years, but this time around he’s joined by his bandmates from the original 2016 Americana trio, long-time collaborators Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums. Also joining the fray on all but three tracks here is guitarist Charlie Hunter, known for his intricate funk-influenced playing style that combines lead melodies and bass accompaniment, while also being similarly influenced by the blues.

Much of Americana Vol. 2 focuses on Allen’s own compositions, and it’s the Allen original ‘Up South’ that opens up the record with August’s lumbering bassline and Hunter’s twangy, tremolo-effected electric guitar. The band jam on what is ostensibly an electric blues tune, making their introductions before Allen makes his first appearance over half-way into this six-and-a-half minute tune. Although Hunter can shred most guitarists under the table, he’s a little more restrained when in a band setting, sticking to some incredibly tasteful blues licks and trading-off solo duties between Allen throughout the record, as well as adding that essential textural character that really sells the Americana aesthetic.

Allen also uses this record as a chance to examine Black and working-class American history. One of the two covers on the record, ‘This World Is a Mean World’, takes its Spiritual-style vocal refrain and sees both Hunter and Allen echo it throughout the tune; though both of them grew up in different parts of the States, both found mutual ground in their upbringings. Elsewhere one of the more explicitly-titled tracks, ‘The Battle of Blair Mountain’, makes reference to the largest labour uprising in the US, and the second of two covers – ‘You Don’t Know Me’ originally written for singer Cindy Walker by Eddy Arnold – pays tribute to American country tunes.

Allen’s compositions are kept fairly modal, often with a funky backbeat like ‘The Werk Song’ which features Hunter, August and Royston holding down a steady beat as Allen improvises on a single rooted chord. The only exceptions to this being the trilogy of tracks ‘Jackie and Johnny’, ‘Mickey and Mallory’ and ‘A Mouthful of Forevers’, much more open-ended and improvisatory pieces that stand in contrast to the rest of the album’s largely groove-based material, as well as inviting a certain starkness, being the only ones without Hunter providing some form of chordal accompaniment. It should be said Allen’s quartet and occasional trio are rendered here in fantastic clarity, hats off to the recording engineer at Savant that put that session together.

J.D. Allen doesn’t have a lot to prove at this point, having been active since the mid-90s and carving out his well-informed sound – since 2011 he’s even released a studio album every year, on top of all his sideman duties. The record closes out with ‘Down South’, re-contextualising the bass melody from opener ‘Up South’, but while the former makes for a more up-tempo swing, Americana Vol. 2 leaves us with a more lonesome number.