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
The Music Of Wayne Shorter cover

The Music Of Wayne Shorter

Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Moving Cities cover

Moving Cities

Makaya McCraven, Antoine Berjeaut
Live at Sweet Basil, Vol. 1 cover

Live at Sweet Basil, Vol. 1

David Murray Big Band
Touchin' on Trane cover

Touchin' on Trane

Rashied Ali, Charles Gayle, William Parker
Giant Beauty cover

Giant Beauty

أحمد [Ahmed]
The Source cover

The Source

Tony Allen
Ripples cover

Ripples

Husmo HAV
Good Days cover

Good Days

Chicago Underground Quartet