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SAVANT

QUEEN CITY

Contemporary Dark Virtuosic Energetic Contemplative Tenor saxophone
$16.63

Details

Artist
ALLEN, JD
Format
CD
Label
SAVANT
Released
Jul 09, 2021
Catalog #
SAVT2194.2
UPC
633842219424

About

In JD Allen's liner notes for Queen City, it becomes clear that he spent a great deal of time thinking about how the pandemic has impacted his relationship with music and specifically his saxophone.  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."  The tenor saxophonist's response to his period of introspection is this current 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, by extension, 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.

Tracklist 13 tracks

  1. 1 Three Little Words 02:56
    Track
    1
    Title
    Three Little Words
    Duration
    02:56
    Composer
    Harry Ruby
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  2. 2 Wildwood Flower 04:40
    Track
    2
    Title
    Wildwood Flower
    Duration
    04:40
    Composer
    Joseph Philbrick Webster
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  3. 3 Maude 02:05
    Track
    3
    Title
    Maude
    Duration
    02:05
    Composer
    J.D. Allen
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  4. 4 O.T.R. 02:59
    Track
    4
    Title
    O.T.R.
    Duration
    02:59
    Composer
    J.D. Allen
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  5. 5 Retrograde 02:42
    Track
    5
    Title
    Retrograde
    Duration
    02:42
    Composer
    J.D. Allen
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  6. 6 Gem and Eye 02:44
    Track
    6
    Title
    Gem and Eye
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    J.D. Allen
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  7. 7 Mother 02:01
    Track
    7
    Title
    Mother
    Duration
    02:01
    Composer
    J.D. Allen
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  8. 8 Queen City 03:52
    Track
    8
    Title
    Queen City
    Duration
    03:52
    Composer
    J.D. Allen
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  9. 9 Vernetta 02:30
    Track
    9
    Title
    Vernetta
    Duration
    02:30
    Composer
    J.D. Allen
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  10. 10 Kristian with a K 03:56
    Track
    10
    Title
    Kristian with a K
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    J.D. Allen
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  11. 11 Nyla's Sky 02:48
    Track
    11
    Title
    Nyla's Sky
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    J.D. Allen
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  12. 12 Just a Gigolo 03:18
    Track
    12
    Title
    Just a Gigolo
    Duration
    03:18
    Composer
    Leonello Casucci
    Performer
    J.D. Allen
  13. 13 These Foolish Things 03:41
    Track
    13
    Title
    These Foolish Things
    Duration
    03:41
    Composer
    Harry Link, Jack Strachey
    Performer
    J.D. Allen