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
If You Listen Carefully The Music Is Yours  cover

If You Listen Carefully The Music Is Yours

Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra
Live in Japan cover

Live in Japan

John Coltrane
From the River to the Ocean cover

From the River to the Ocean

Hamid Drake, Fred Anderson
Live at the Union 1966 cover

Live at the Union 1966

Ian Carr, Don Rendell
The Hearinga Suite cover

The Hearinga Suite

Muhal Richard Abrams
Speaking in Tongues cover

Speaking in Tongues

David Murray, Fontella Bass
Anthony Braxton cover

Anthony Braxton

Anthony Braxton
Under the Sun cover

Under the Sun

Human Arts Ensemble
Last Exit cover

Last Exit

Last Exit
Victory! cover

Victory!

JD Allen