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Editorial Reviews
Following the four critically-acclaimed albums, IN SEARCH OF, PHAROAH S CHILDREN, I AM-I AM and SHINE!, Sunnyside Records is releasing The JD Allen Trio's latest endeavor, VICTORY!, on May 17, 2011 his third for the label with his longstanding trio. The album also includes a documentary film short by director Mario Lathan. The film plays an integral part of the recapitulation in the loosely-based sonata form and should be considered the final track of the album.
VICTORY! promises to solidify Allen's reputation as one of jazz's most dynamic and inspiring tunesmiths. Transcending a dissolute early life to create some of his era's most memorable music, Allen has made much of his signature, melodic "jukebox jazz" in a trio setting, including week long stands at The Village Vanguard. Those gigs - one of them simulcast on NPR - and also this album feature Allen's high-octane rhythm section, bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston.
"Wasting notes is a waste of time," says Allen. These songs, most of them no longer than three or four minutes, stand out for their melodicism and intensity, ablaze with memorable hooks and riffs by all three band members. Throughout the album, Allen and his band mates eschew long solos in favor of setting a mood or stating an intention and then following through taking the form of a classical sonata - a theme and variations which end conclusively - VICTORY! offers twelve succinct, interwoven compositions.
The title track sets the tone for much of the album, dark enigmatic minor-key gospel beauty played out against the rhythm section's stately insistence. Royston's aggressive introduction offers no hint of the balmy swing that emerges on the second track, The Pilot's Compass, Allen interjecting commentary as August pulses and Royston supplies his signature, muscular rumble. They follow with the darkly biting The Thirsty Ear and then the ominous Sura Hinda, Allen's solemn vibrato adding extra gravitas. As on I AM I AM and SHINE!, August gets an enviable role to play throughout the album, notably on The Learned Tongue as he shadows Allen while the drums go rubato, or on Philippe Petit - a homage to the French high wire artist - where his serious, bowed lines, equal part triumph and terror, balance against Royston's playful intricacies and Allen's calm, steely optimism.
The simply titled Motif allows Allen and Royston to take the theme further outside as August sits out. Fatima allows a playful element to creep in over Royston's nimble shuffle; Allen s nod to Branford Marsalis, Mr. Steepy enters with unexpectedly blithe swing blues, Royston eventually cutting loose with a grin and crowding everyone out of the picture. The album winds up with three unexpected shifts: Stairway to the Stars, a Harold Arlen-esque ballad; The Hungry Eye, centered around a vividly off-center bass solo; and the concluding track, reprising The Pilot's Compass and elevating it to a rare sense of joy, ending suddenly with a bit of a wink. It could be the high point in a career of a group whose trajectory is still on the upswing.
VICTORY! promises to solidify Allen's reputation as one of jazz's most dynamic and inspiring tunesmiths. Transcending a dissolute early life to create some of his era's most memorable music, Allen has made much of his signature, melodic "jukebox jazz" in a trio setting, including week long stands at The Village Vanguard. Those gigs - one of them simulcast on NPR - and also this album feature Allen's high-octane rhythm section, bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston.
"Wasting notes is a waste of time," says Allen. These songs, most of them no longer than three or four minutes, stand out for their melodicism and intensity, ablaze with memorable hooks and riffs by all three band members. Throughout the album, Allen and his band mates eschew long solos in favor of setting a mood or stating an intention and then following through taking the form of a classical sonata - a theme and variations which end conclusively - VICTORY! offers twelve succinct, interwoven compositions.
The title track sets the tone for much of the album, dark enigmatic minor-key gospel beauty played out against the rhythm section's stately insistence. Royston's aggressive introduction offers no hint of the balmy swing that emerges on the second track, The Pilot's Compass, Allen interjecting commentary as August pulses and Royston supplies his signature, muscular rumble. They follow with the darkly biting The Thirsty Ear and then the ominous Sura Hinda, Allen's solemn vibrato adding extra gravitas. As on I AM I AM and SHINE!, August gets an enviable role to play throughout the album, notably on The Learned Tongue as he shadows Allen while the drums go rubato, or on Philippe Petit - a homage to the French high wire artist - where his serious, bowed lines, equal part triumph and terror, balance against Royston's playful intricacies and Allen's calm, steely optimism.
The simply titled Motif allows Allen and Royston to take the theme further outside as August sits out. Fatima allows a playful element to creep in over Royston's nimble shuffle; Allen s nod to Branford Marsalis, Mr. Steepy enters with unexpectedly blithe swing blues, Royston eventually cutting loose with a grin and crowding everyone out of the picture. The album winds up with three unexpected shifts: Stairway to the Stars, a Harold Arlen-esque ballad; The Hungry Eye, centered around a vividly off-center bass solo; and the concluding track, reprising The Pilot's Compass and elevating it to a rare sense of joy, ending suddenly with a bit of a wink. It could be the high point in a career of a group whose trajectory is still on the upswing.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
On this, his third Sunnyside trio recording, the wonderful saxophonist JD Allen excels in a dynamic tenor + rhythm format (shades of "Chasin' The Trane")--the aptly titled VICTORY!.
JD Allen goes about his business with a minimum of muss and fuss and no histrionic flummery; a richly inflected yearning tone and focused melodic articulation with great rhythmic drive. Nor do he and his trio beat a dead horse into submission...get in, make a statement, essay some variations, and get out--short and sweet (and intense).
Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums stoke the rhythmic furnace and then some in a fulsome conversational manner--freedom with focus, as elucidated so movingly on the lament of the title tune, and throughout this wonderful sounding recording.
Nor are you likely to hear JD bite down on his mouthpiece, and spew out random overtones and harmonics--the international semaphore for "excitement" in the name of modernism. JD Allen is robustly and dramatically melodic at all times, and owes no one an apology for such an old school approach.
JD's performance with Gregg and Rudy on "Mr. Steepy" was particularly affecting, but I couldn't shake the sense of something familiar about the harmonic cycle.
Finally, the mystery was solved: Duke Ellington's classic "In A Mellotone."
Very hip. And very modern...not in the sense of being different for the sake of difference or weird with a beard, but with the collective mastery and freedom which comes from knowing the form so thoroughly that you can go all the way out with complete confidence that you can come back.
Buy a copy of VICTORY and experience such joy and maturity for yourself.
JD Allen goes about his business with a minimum of muss and fuss and no histrionic flummery; a richly inflected yearning tone and focused melodic articulation with great rhythmic drive. Nor do he and his trio beat a dead horse into submission...get in, make a statement, essay some variations, and get out--short and sweet (and intense).
Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums stoke the rhythmic furnace and then some in a fulsome conversational manner--freedom with focus, as elucidated so movingly on the lament of the title tune, and throughout this wonderful sounding recording.
Nor are you likely to hear JD bite down on his mouthpiece, and spew out random overtones and harmonics--the international semaphore for "excitement" in the name of modernism. JD Allen is robustly and dramatically melodic at all times, and owes no one an apology for such an old school approach.
JD's performance with Gregg and Rudy on "Mr. Steepy" was particularly affecting, but I couldn't shake the sense of something familiar about the harmonic cycle.
Finally, the mystery was solved: Duke Ellington's classic "In A Mellotone."
Very hip. And very modern...not in the sense of being different for the sake of difference or weird with a beard, but with the collective mastery and freedom which comes from knowing the form so thoroughly that you can go all the way out with complete confidence that you can come back.
Buy a copy of VICTORY and experience such joy and maturity for yourself.
