UPWARD Tyrone Allen II

• 1 (early 2020's) 02:12
• 2 Smp Sng 03:44
• 3 Cassia (Instrumental) 03:14
• 4 UPWARD 05:48
• 5 art day 01:33
• 6 The A-Side (Dedicated to R.P.) 02:00
• 7 2020's intro 01:22
• 8 Stuck 01:59
• 9 harp solo 00:59
• 10 Mood (1a-1b) 04:25
• 11 Mood (1c) 01:13
• 12 Alt. Stuck 04:23
• 13 when is it ever really smp / smp 4 me 03:33
• 14 Bass UNLIMITED 03:23
• Total Runtime 39:48

Info for UPWARD

Tyrone Allen II Announces New Album ‘UPWARD’, known for his work with Sullivan Fortner, Nicole Glover, Miki Yamanaka Quartet, Wendy Eisenberg, Joy Guidry, Allen’s debut comes with music cross-genre experience.

With UPWARD, Allen takes a bold, deeply personal step into the foreground. Released on his own Dreams and Fears imprint, the album introduces Allen not just as a bassist but as a producer, composer, and ensemble architect. It’s a work born out of introspection and crafted with the patience of someone who prefers long arcs over quick impact.

Allen, whose father was an amateur electric bassist, grew up in Temple Hills, Maryland, a community in Prince George’s County where music education and church performance were foundational. Allen’s first structured music experience came via recorder lessons at age three, later followed by stints on piano, saxophone, and guitar, before he ultimately arrived home to the bass.

Though formal music programs weren’t available in his early schooling, Allen began upright bass in high school at the urging of a jazz band director who insisted he study both electric and acoustic. He joined the school orchestra, dove into jazz repertoire, and later connected with Paul Carr, the DMV jazz legend whose mentorship pipeline has produced generations of serious players. A scholarship to Carr’s Jazz Academy followed, which in turn opened the door to the Eastman School of Music’s summer program, then undergraduate study there.

Eastman’s dual track in classical and jazz refined Allen’s technical approach while exposing him to Rochester’s vibrant DIY music scene. There he met multi-instrumentalist Abe Nouri, a creative foil who co-produced UPWARD. At Eastman, Allen also connected with Wendy Eisenberg and other future collaborators. He continued his education at Berklee College of Music through the Global Jazz Institute, where he studied with Danilo Pérez, Terri Lyne Carrington, and John Patitucci, among others.

"Although UPWARD is Allen’s debut as a leader, it doesn’t feel like a first step. Rather, it feels like the culmination of a quiet ascent—years of sideman work, self-study, and personal calibration, synthesized into a multi-dimensional vision. The album closes with “Bass UNLIMITED,” a full-circle moment that reintroduces the theme from the opener, signaling not closure but renewal. This isn’t an arrival—it’s a waypoint. A declaration of direction. A statement that Allen, shaped by his early community ethos, Eastman’s dual rigor, Berklee’s cosmopolitan reach, and New York’s wide-open creative terrain, is ready to continue building—not upward for its own sake, but toward connection, transformation, and truth." (bassmagazine.com)

Tyrone Allen II, double and electric bass & synthesizer bass, electronics
Aidan Lombard, trumpet (tracks 2, 4, 13, 14)
Neta Raanan, saxophone (tracks 1-2, 4, 6-8, 10, 12, 14)
Abe Nouri, synthesizer, electronics (tracks 2, 13)
Lex Korten, keyboards, piano (tracks 1-4, 7-8, 10, 12-14)
Samantha Feliciano, harp (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8-10, 14)
Kayvon Gordon, drums (track 1-4, 7-8, 10, 12-14)

Recorded at Bunker Studios April 4-5, 2024
Engineered by Alex Conroy, Abe Nouri, Tyrone Allen II
Mixed by Abe Nouri, Dave Darlington
Mastering by Dave Darlington
Produced by Tyrone Allen Il, Abe Nouri

Tyrone Allen II
In recent years, Tyrone Allen II has proved not only to be one of the most consistently in-demand sidemen on the NYC scene, but a generational talent.

Since 2018, his name has not only appeared in publications like the New York Times, JazzTimes and WBGO, but was featured (and pictured) in the 2024 DownBeat Critics Poll for “Rising Star Jazz Group” as one third of the Sullivan Fortner Trio.

Before moving to NYC, Tyrone had already earned recognition as a sideman and intermittent leader. His credits prior to moving to NYC included Terri Lyne Carrington, Jerry Bergonzi, Genevieve Artadi, George Garzone, and the late great Ralph Peterson in his Fo’Tet. Though this final iteration of the Fo’tet’s recording remains unreleased, the spirit of Peterson’s teachings and playing lives on in Allen, as he dedicates a track on his forthcoming debut album UPWARD to Peterson.

As a leader, in addition to his own groups he co-led BRAHIM! with Abe Nouri, the current keyboardist for Billie Eilish. Though the band is currently inactive, the self titled album stamps a formative time for the group, as well as Tyrone and Abe’s roots of collaboration.

Quickly after Tyrone moved to NYC in 2018, word got out that his accompanying skills would be fit for a wide array of musical settings. His early performing and recording credits included Jazzmeia Horn, JD Allen, Louis Cole, Bruce Harris, and Rodney Green. During this time he completed world tours with Horn and Green. On the debut album of Green’s band Jackson Miller, he played bass on more than half the record.

Since 2021, Tyrone’s sideman credits have broadened, as well as his output as a leader. Not only has he appeared on records with the likes of Nicole Glover, Joy Guidry, Wendy Eisenberg, George Burton and more, he has also been touring extensively with Sullivan Fortner’s trio, culminating with a run at the legendary Village Vanguard in early 2025. Recordings of Fortner’s trio featuring Allen will be available in 2026.

Trusted on the bandstand in clubs, concert halls, in the studio, and in the pit orchestras of Broadway, Tyrone is a Swiss Army knife of talent. In addition to all of his creative music credits, he is currently the bass chair of the 10 time Tony Award winning Broadway show Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

It’s worth noting that Tyrone has re-emerged as a bandleader and solo performer, leaving audiences wanting more. In 2024, the debut of his solo project under the moniker “TY.000” (Ty-thousand) was released. This as well as his band TAiiQ (the Tyrone Allen II Quartet) have been performing more and more in recent years.

He hit a milestone as the 2024 Tribe for Jazz Artist in Residence in Columbus, OH, where he performed as TY.000, with TAiiQ, as well as a sideman with other projects.

His next release will be his debut LP entitled UPWARD. The release features an augmented version of TAiiQ, with production credits by Allen and Nouri. The album will be released in Spring 2026.

This album contains no booklet.