JD Allen - This (CD)

Time was when the use of any electronically-generated effects in an artist's work, would immediately brand you as a member of the avant-garde. Eventually, however, jazz embraced the modernism of electronics as people like Rashaan Roland Kirk, John Zorn and classical composers like Edgard Varèse took electronics down a less self-destructive and more communicative road. On THIS, tenor saxophonist and composer JD Allen explores the possibilities of electronics+jazz with a set of new compositions for himself, drummer Gwilym Jones and electronics effects wizard Alex Bonney. These works exhibit an astonishingly wide spectrum where you may find modal, blues-infused melodies juxtaposed against startling and provocative electronic effects. There can be a slim line in jazz between being a traditionalist troglodyte and being a radical visionary. On his latest recording, JD Allen has demonstrated that there is a musically satisfying and emotionally fulfilling middle ground.

Track List:

Disc: 1

1. This
2. The Revelator
3. Know Dogs Allowed
4. Boom-Bap
5. Beeyondsay
6. MX. Fairweather
7. The Knight of Swords
8. See It, Say It, Sorted