JD Allen

Tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen was born in Detroit, MI, on December 11, 1972. He is a member of the third wave of Young Lion mainstream jazz players. As a young man, he was influenced by the great musicians who stayed in Detroit, but upon his arrival in New York City his real apprenticeship began, as he worked with such notables as George Cables, Betty Carter, Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Frank Foster's Loud Minority big band, Butch Morris, David Murray, and Wallace Roney. His contemporary collaborators include Winard Harper, Orrin Evans, Gerald Cleaver, Eric Revis, Marcus Gilmore, Russell Gunn, Me'Shell Ndegéocello, Dave Douglas, Duane Eubanks, Jeremy Pelt, Fabio Morgera, Elisabeth Kontomanou, Lucian Ban, Nigel Kennedy, and the Red Records All-Stars. Allen's debut recording, In Search Of... for the Criss Cross label, won him an award for Best New Artist in Italy in 1999, and had reviewers praising him for his original compositions and bold playing. That same year he began touring and recording with drummer Cindy Blackman's ensemble, a band in which he is a charter member. His second Criss Cross date, Pharoah's Children, was a Jazziz magazine critics pick as a Top Ten Album of the Year in 2002. Allen was subsequently signed to the Sunnyside label, offering the CDs I Am I Am in 2008 and Shine! in 2009. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi