TYRONE ALLEN II “Upward”

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ARTIST

Tyrone Allen II

ALBUM TITLE

“Upward”

LABEL

Dreams & Fears

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The bandleader debut of Tyrone Allen II – the highly acclaimed new bassist on the New York scene, whom we have had the opportunity to admire alongside Sullivan Fortner – presents itself as a kind of manifesto for an artistic identity centred on crossover and multifaceted creativity. Indeed, although Allen possesses the unmistakable calibre of a virtuoso when heard live, he does not step forward here in that capacity, but rather as the creator of a highly articulated compositional structure: fourteen pieces assembled as if to form a suite, endowed with a clear narrative and almost diary-like dimension. At the same time, he embraces a very open approach to composition, underpinned by a carefully conceived dramaturgical framework, as exemplified by his use of the harp.

The approach is mature and remarkably well defined, as Allen’s dual role as author and producer of his own work would suggest. Nothing appears to have been left to chance in a vision that conveys both lived experience and a highly layered journey. By his own account, the album underwent a long gestation – “Early 2020’s”, as the title of its opening track explicitly indicates – and reflects an idea of working through extended temporal cycles. This image is precisely mirrored in the musical environment created by the album, in which the bass occupies centre stage as both guide and fulcrum, while the spatial deployment of the other instruments – the horns, electronics and the aforementioned harp – is skilfully used to create a stratified whole. The music unfolds with a certain softness that gradually becomes more insistent, eventually asserting its command over the entire sonic space.

Allen’s authorial stamp is clearly evident throughout, reinforced by a strong introspective and emotional dimension: the narrative form is fully realised and entirely self-sustaining. Particularly striking is the album’s belonging to a clearly defined cultural context – the “new” NYC scene – which becomes a convergence of artistic practices, production and aesthetic choices, and a complete, almost ostentatious degree of artistic control. It is an organic traversal of genres – jazz, R&B, hip-hop, electronic music, ambient and songwriting – in which the artist’s individual poetics can no longer be separated from everything else, and all the elements cohere.

Not everything is perfect, nor does the album achieve the same degree of consistency throughout; otherwise, we would be talking about one of the albums of the year. Yet it remains an exceptional achievement when one considers that this is a debut whose peaks reach remarkably high, and that consideration will carry considerable weight when assessing Allen as a young talent.

This is music that asserts itself through a certain languid circularity, without ever being overtly forceful: precisely for that reason, it becomes difficult to do without. Not to be missed.

Sandro Cerini

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