Queen City

Allen is perceptibly and powerfully measured on the 13 tracks on this album, which fall within the tight two-to-fiveminute mark rather than stretching into opus territory. This concision is important.... — Jazzwise, August 2021, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 23rd Jul 2021
Catalogue No: SCD2194
Label: Savant
Length: 40 minutes

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Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby: Three Little Words

Work length2:56

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J.D. Allen III

J.P. Webster, Maud Irving: Wildwood Flower

Work length4:39

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J.D. Allen III

JD Allen: Maude

Work length2:04

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J.D. Allen III

JD Allen: O.T.R.

Work length2:58

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J.D. Allen III

JD Allen: Retrograde

Work length2:41

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J.D. Allen III

JD Allen: Gem and Eye

Work length2:43

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J.D. Allen III

JD Allen: Mother

Work length2:01

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J.D. Allen III

JD Allen: Queen City

Work length3:51

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J.D. Allen III

JD Allen: Vernetta

Work length2:29

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J.D. Allen III

JD Allen: Kristian with a K

Work length3:56

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J.D. Allen III

JD Allen: Nyla's Sky

Work length2:47

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J.D. Allen III

L. Casucci, I. Caesar: Just a Gigolo

Work length3:18

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J.D. Allen III

E. Maschwitz, J. Strachey: These Foolish Things

Work length3:40

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J.D. Allen III

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In JD Allen's liner notes for 'Queen City', it becomes clear that he spent a great deal of time during the pandemic thinking about "what to do with the time that is given us." The tenor saxophonist's response to his period of introspection is this recording, a solo saxophone program. It is a recording full of stark, uncompromising power, affording some rare insight into the psyche of the performer.

This is not a Coleman Hawkins' "Picasso"-toned, I-love-my-horn-and-my-horn-loves-me type of symbiosis. There is a real sense of confrontation between Allen and his horn and the audience which makes for a unique listening experience. This is not to imply that 'Queen City' is some severe piece of avant garde abrasiveness. Rather, it encompasses an extraordinarily wide-range of musical languages which communicates an equally broad spectrum of emotions. Melodies of ravishing beauty alternate with angular, aggressive phrases to express frustration, anger, resolve, hope, love and acceptance in what may become one of the most personal and revealing recordings to come out of the trying time of Covid-19.

In the notes Allen writes, "Performing music for and with people is what I do and I've come to the realization that an audience of listeners of any size is a part of the music; it's also a shared experience. Covid-19 changed that and forced me to try to remember why I started playing in the first place, the years before I started performing and recording."

Reviews

August 2021

Allen is perceptibly and powerfully measured on the 13 tracks on this album, which fall within the tight two-to-fiveminute mark rather than stretching into opus territory. This concision is important. For the most part Allen keeps his focus on very even-handed well-paced narratives, sometimes using quite spare phrasing to highlight his melodic richness of pieces such as the beautiful ‘Wildwood Flower’ and sometimes opting for a strong rhythmic attack, such as on the bustling ‘Retrograde.’

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