Jazz Is Dead releases albums of iconic musicians who have shaped the fabric of jazz across generations, genres and continents. For its latest instalment, the label have announced a new posthumous album from the late Afrobeat legend Tony Allen. Tony Allen JID018 was recorded with Jazz Is Dead founder Adrian Younge in August of 2018 at Linear Labs studios in Los Angeles and will be released in July 2023 to coincide with what would have been Allen’s 83rd birthday. The second single from the album was recently released and now available to via the label and streaming services.

Over the course of Allen’s recording career, he defined the Afrobeat sound, meshing Funk & Jazz influences with Nigerian Highlife to create a cross-cultural dialogue that has gone global. Tony Allen was a revelatory jazz drummer, as heard on “No Beginning”, a mid-tempo tune that sits at the nexus of Spiritual Jazz and Afrobeat.

“Despite the finite time that Allen had on this planet, as do all of us, his contributions to music are timeless and untouchable, and will continue to inform and inspire generations to come. Jazz Is Dead is honored to have played a part in the legacy of Tony Allen and invites you to discover the unparalleled genius that shifted the entire world’s conception of time, a magician who alchemized the past with the future and influenced countless listeners, currently and to come.”

Pre order Tony Allen JID018 via Jazz is Dead HERE