SÖWT JD Allen

• 1 Kin 07:07
• 2 SÖWT 07:42
• 3 Moussayé 07:19
• 4 Found 07:09
• 5 Solid 05:33
• 6 Lil Lullaby 03:58
• 7 Samawi 05:36
• Total Runtime 44:24

Info for SÖWT

Morocco's position at the crossroads of Africa, Europe and the Middle East has given rise to one of the world's richest musical traditions. It was perhaps inevitable that the inquisitive artistry of tenor saxophonist and composer JD Allen would eventually lead him there. Drawn by the hypnotic pulse, spiritual depth and communal spirit of Gnawa music, Allen immersed himself in it's rhythms, it's people and, above all, it's capacity to communicate profound emotion through remarkable musical economy.Those experiences became the catalyst for SÖWT, but inspiration alone does not make compelling music. Back in the studio, Allen and his ensemble transformed what they had absorbed through the disciplines of composition, improvisation and collective listening, creating music that reflects their Moroccan encounters while remaining unmistakably their own. At once direct and mysterious, earthy and transcendent, SÖWT is less an attempt to explain another culture than to engage it in conversation, discovering common ground where tradition, imagination and improvisation meet.

JD Allen, tenor saxophone
Leo Montana, piano
Hamza Souissi, electric bass
Ruy Adrián López-Nussa, drums
Yazid Alaoui, guembri, vocals

JD Allen
Hailed by the New York Times as "a tenor saxophonist with an enigmatic, elegant and hard-driving style," J.D. Allen is one of the most thoughtful jazz saxophonists on the scene today.

The Detroit natives apprenticeship has largely been in New York, where he has performed, recorded, and toured with legends Lester Bowie, George Cables, Betty Carter,Louis Hayes , Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Frank Foster Big Band, Winard Harper, Butch Morris, David Murray, Wallace Roney, and contemporaries Cindy Blackman, Orrin Evans, Marcus Gilmore, Russell Gunn, and Me'shell N'degeocello, Dave Douglas among others.

J.D.'s debut album, In Search Of... (red records), won him the Best New Artist award in Italy in 1999, and had reviewers praising him for his original compositions and bold playing. That same year J.D. began touring and recording with drummer Cindy Blackman's Quartet, where he remains a member.

His second release, Pharoah's Children (Criss Cross), won him accolades for its thoughtfulness, maturity, and adventurousness. One of Jazziz Magazine's Critics Pics Top 10 Albums of the Year, the album was praised in the U.S. and Europe, along with leading musicians, such as Michael Brecker and Jeff "Tain" Watts.

Since making a strong impression in his early years in New York at venues like Smalls, Village Gate, and Visiones, and serving an invaluable tenure with Betty Carter, J.D. has come a long way, now fully possessed of his own sound. J.D. has appeared on NPR's Jazz Perspectives, WNYC's Soundcheck, WKCR's Musician's Show and is a member of the Romare Bearden Homecoming Jazz All-Star Band.

Booklet for SÖWT