CD Features African Kora Master and Is Latest in Big Year for Allison Ben Allison is a leader. He can't stop thinking about how to revolutionize - whether it's on his bass, in his composing or in jazz itself. He has a reputation as one of the most original voices in modern jazz, a strong organizational force on the New York City music scene, and an advocate for artist empowerment.
Much of this reputation stems from his formation of the Jazz Composers Collective (JCC) when he was just 25 years old. Now celebrating its 10th year of cooperative success, the Collective is a musician-run, non-profit organization based in New York City that is dedicated to constructing an environment where artists can exercise their ideal of creative risk through the development and exploration of new music. As the Artistic Director and a Composer-in-Residence of the JCC, Allison has produced or co-produced over 100 concerts and special events, including the Collective's annual concert series (now in its tenth season), national and international tours by Collective artists, an ongoing Collective residency at the Museum of Modern Art, and an annual “Jazz Composers Collective Festival" at the Jazz Standard - which continues to draw international attention as a mainstay of New York City's musical life. This year's special 10th anniversary festival was broadcast live on WBGO FM, was the subject of a glowing NEW YORK TIMES feature piece and launched the re-opening of the Jazz Standard.
But Allison's reputation as a leader also directly stems from what he does in his music. With the release of Peace Pipe (August 27, 2002), he has again broken new ground by challenging any assumed limitations on the music and thereby, producing an album that transcends many people's expectations of jazz.
His inclusion of African kora master, Mamadou Diabate from Mali, brings a heightened poignancy and beautiful tension to Allison's playing and compositions. The interplay of the kora and the guest Tomas Ulrich's cello on “Third Rail", the opening tune, is a masterful example of Allison's use of unusual instrumentation to create an entirely new sound for jazz (all in a tune inspired by Duke Ellington and the subways of New York!). The track also features guest Peter Apfelbaum on tenor saxophone.
He showcases this genius again in the second tune, “Slap Happy," where he focuses attention on the texture created by hand slapping instruments from the bass to the drum and also on the creative freedom achieved by letting the music go on its own. This musical evolution continues on the title track “Peace Pipe", which changed so much in its recording that Allison had to change the original title to more aptly express the feeling evoked.
One of two tunes not written by Allison on the CD, “Dakan" was composed by Diabate and touches on how many musicians - particularly African musicians - believe they are destined to create music as art. The next tune, “Goin' Back," comes from one of Allison's favorite composers, Neil Young.
“Disposable Genius" - Allison's composition for the NPR program, “On the Media," - follows. Then “Realization" and “Mantra", two tunes that feature a lot of movement by way of chord changes and solo work. Much of the music on Peace Pipe was commissioned by the Chamber Music America's New Works: Creation & Presentation Program, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Allison produced the CD and composed and arranged eight of the ten tracks. His band for the recording in addition to Diabate was: Frank Kimbrough, piano, prepared piano and Wurlitzer; Michael Blake, tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet; and Michael Sarin, drums and percussion.
Artist Background
Born in 1966 in New Haven, Connecticut, Allison has performed the world over with musicians ranging from oudist Ara Dinkjian to saxophonist Lee Konitz to legendary performance artist Joey Arias. He has appeared on over 25 albums and has written music for film, TV and radio. A prolific composer, he has received commissioning, performing, and recording grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and many other esteemed organizations. As an educator, Allison produces music seminars, including a composition series held at the New School University in New York.
Allison has five recordings as a leader, four of them on Palmetto: Peace Pipe (September 2002); Riding the Nuclear Tiger (2001); Third Eye (1999); and Medicine Wheel (1998). Riding the Nuclear Tiger was cited as among the best of 2001 by JAZZ TIMES, UPI, the Jazz Journalists Association, the NEWARK STAR-LEDGER, CMJ MUSIC MONTHLY, JAZZ REVIEW (UK), and CODA (Canada) among others. Third Eye was named one of the ten best recordings of 1999 by THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE BOSTON GLOBE and JAZZIZ, among others.
DOWN BEAT Magazine has cited Allison one of the “25 rising jazz stars for the future" and included him in the following categories in its annual critics' poll naming talent deserving wider recognition (DWR): “Best Bassist DWR" (2002,2001); “Jazz Artist DWR" (2002); and Top 10 Acoustic Bassist DWR" (2002). He's also received SESAC's National Performance Award for radio airplay in both 2001 and 1999. And for his leadership role in the innovative Herbie Nichols Project - a collective formed to revive the music and legend of the underrecognized pianist/composer, Herbie Nichols - Down Beat named Allison to “Best Acoustic Group" (2002) and “Best Album" (2002).
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