Americana, Vol. 2 cover

Americana, Vol. 2

Released

Six years after his first Americana album, tenor saxophonist JD Allen and his long-standing rhythm section (bassist Gregg August, drummer Rudy Royston) return for a sequel, and they’re joined by guitarist Charlie Hunter. He’s a perfect addition to the mix, as his lines have bite and sting, and inspire Allen to really dig his feet into the dirt. The melodies are exactly the right kind of simple — they’re more like riffs, and they serve as perfect springboards for both sax and guitar to take restrained but intense solos. Allen’s conception of the blues isn’t the showboating, pyrotechnic style of Buddy Guy; instead, he goes for the deceptively laid-back, secretly almost sinister intensity of John Lee Hooker or Junior Kimbrough. And on “You Don’t Know Me,” the trio-turned-quartet delivers a genuinely beautiful old-school love ballad.

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Calls For Action cover

Calls For Action

Harish Raghavan
Back East cover

Back East

Joshua Redman
Speaking in Tongues cover

Speaking in Tongues

David Murray, Fontella Bass
Echoes cover

Echoes

Fire! Orchestra
Nefertiti cover

Nefertiti

Miles Davis
Woodcuts cover

Woodcuts

Paal Nilssen-Love, Peter Brötzmann
Double Demon cover

Double Demon

Starlicker
Crazy People Music cover

Crazy People Music

Branford Marsalis
Live in Japan cover

Live in Japan

John Coltrane
Giant Steps cover

Giant Steps

John Coltrane