JD Allen’s eighth recording for Savant Records finds the wildly inventive saxophonist returning to the sax-bass-drums format playing with his usual sizzling intensity and unveiling new works which challenge preconceptions which somehow engage the listeners rather than alienate them. His colleagues, Ian Kenselaar and Nic Cacioppo are with him every step of the way, reveling in the exploratory compositions of their leader and rising to the challenges they bring. JD Allen was hailed by New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff as, “a tenor saxophonist with an enigmatic, elegant and hard-driving style,” He has been the winner of Downbeat, JazzTimes & NPR polls in categories including NPR’s Best Jazz of the Year, Tenor Saxophonist of the Year, Composer of the Year and Rising Star of the Year. Following up on 2016’s ground-breaking album, AMERICANA, (SCD 2155), BARRACOON (a lean-to or barracks to confine slaves) reflects Allen’s awareness of the 400th anniversary of the first arrival of unwilling slaves in what was to become the United States.
