J. D. Allen III (born December 11, 1972) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

tenor saxophonist and composer.

Career

After moving to New York City, Allen played with

George Cables George Andrew Cables (born November 14, 1944) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Cables was born in New York City, United States. He was initially taught piano by his mother. He then studied at the High School of Performing Ar ...

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative int ...

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, Frank Foster,

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, David Murray, and

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. Closer to his generation, he has played with Lucian Ban,

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, Gerald Cleaver,

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, Winard Harper,

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. Allen's first solo album, ''In Search Of'' ( Criss Cross, 1999), led to his selection as Best New Artist in Italy. In 2002, his second album was chosen a top ten album of the year by '' Jazziz'' magazine. Ten years later he was named best composer and best tenor saxophonist in the Critics' Poll at ''

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'' magazine. A critic at NPR picked his album ''Victory'' ( Sunnyside, 2011) for the number three spot in the top twenty albums of 2011. Allen also works under the pseudonym "Bigger Thomas" and "Cross Damon."

Discography

As leader

* ''In Search of J.D. Allen'' (

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

, 1999) * ''Pharaoh's Children'' (

Criss Cross Jazz Criss Cross Jazz is a Dutch record company and label specializing in jazz. Criss Cross was established in 1980 by Gerry Teekens, a drummer and German professor.

, 2003) * ''I Am I Am'' ( Sunnyside, 2008) * ''Shine!'' (Sunnyside, 2009) * ''Victory!'' (Sunnyside, 2011) * ''The Matador and the Bull'' (

Savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...

, 2012) * ''Grace'' (Savant, 2013) * ''Bloom'' (Savant, 2014) * ''Graffiti'' (Savant, 2015) * ''Americana: Musings on Jazz and Blues'' (Savant, 2016) * ''Radio Flyer'' (Savant, 2017) * ''Love Stone'' (Savant, 2018) * ''Barracoon'' (Savant, 2019) * ''Toys / Die Dreaming'' (Savant, 2020) * ''Queen City'' (Savant, 2021) * ''Americana, Vol. 2'' (Savant, 2022) * ''This'' (Savant, 2023)

As co-leader

* ''Red Stars'' (2004) with

Victor Lewis Victor Lewis (born May 20, 1950) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and educator. Early life Victor Lewis was born on May 20, 1950 in Omaha, Nebraska. His father, Richard Lewis, who played saxophone and mother, Camille, a pianist-vocalist ...

and Fabio Morgera

As sideman

With

* '' Works on Canvas'' (HighNote, 2000) * '' Someday...'' (HighNote, 2001) * '' Music for the New Millennium'' (HighNote, 2006) With

* ''The Band – Live at Widener University'' (2005) * ''Easy Now'' (2005) * ''Liberation Blues'' (2014) With Winard Harper * ''Trap Dancer'' (1998) * ''Winard'' (1999) With Lisa Hilton * ''Twilight & Blues'' (2009) * ''Underground'' (2011) * ''American Impressions'' (2012) * ''Kaleidoscope'' (2014) * ''Horizons'' (2015) * ''Nocturnal'' (2016) * ''Escapism'' (2017) * ''Chalkboard Destiny'' (2019) * ''life is beautiful'' (2022) With Fabio Morgera * ''Slick'' (1998) * ''Colors'' (2000) With

* ''November'' (MaxJazz, 2008) * ''

Men of Honor ''Men of Honor'' (released in the UK and Ireland as ''Men of Honour'') is a 2000 American drama film directed by George Tillman Jr. and starring Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr. The film is inspired by the true story of Master Chief Petty Off ...

'' (HighNote, 2010) * ''

The Talented Mr. Pelt ''The Talented Mr. Pelt'' is an album by trumpeter Jeremy Pelt which was recorded in 2010 and released on the HighNote label the following year. Reception In his review on Allmusic, Matt Collar states "A forward-thinking improviser with an ea ...

'' (HighNote, 2011) * ''Soul'' (HighNote, 2012) With Tarbaby * ''Tarbaby'' (2009) * ''The End of Fear'' (2010) With others *

Duane Eubanks Duane Eubanks (born January 24, 1969 in Philadelphia) is an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist,Elisabeth Kontomanou Elisabeth Kontomanou (born 30 November 1961) is a French jazz singer and composer who has lived in America and Sweden. Life Kontomanou was born in Sète (France) in 1961. She moved to New York in the 1990s and then on to Stockholm where she was ...

, ''Embrace'' (1998) *

, ''Blue on the D.L.'' (2002) *

, ''Tales of a Stuttering Mime'' (2004) * Kerem Görsev, ''New York Days'' (2005) * Lucian Ban, ''The Tuba Project'' (2005) *

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

, ''Blue Note Sessions'' (2006) * Gerald Cleaver, ''Detroit'' (2007) * Ozan Musluoglu, ''40th Day'' (2011) * Jaimeo Brown, ''Transcendence'' (2013) * DJ Clockwork, * Bootsy Collins, * Kris Davis, ''Diatom Ribons'' (2019) * Erick Wyatt, ''The Golden Rule: For Sonny'' (2019) * Gregg August, ''Dialogues On Race'' (2020) * Quincy Davis, ''Q Vision'' (2020)

References

External links

Official siteJD Allen Trio at NewportJazz Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, J. D., Iii Jazz tenor saxophonists American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists 1972 births Living people 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Sunnyside Records artists Criss Cross Jazz artists Red Records artists HighNote Records artists