Harry Allen (musician)

Last updated
Harry Allen
Harry Allen.jpg
Harry Allen in 2006
Background information
Born (1966-10-12) October 12, 1966 (age 58)
Genres Jazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentSaxophone
Labels Arbors, Mastermix
Website www.harryallenjazz.com
Allen in Aarhus, Denmark, 2015 Harry-allen.jpg
Allen in Aarhus, Denmark, 2015

Harry Allen (born October 12, 1966) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist born in Washington, D.C. [1] Allen plays mainstream jazz and bossa nova. He has performed live and recorded with Scott Hamilton, a tenor saxophonist to whom Allen has frequently been compared. He is best known for his work with John Colianni, Dori Caymmi, Keith Ingham, John Pizzarelli, and Bucky Pizzarelli.

Contents

Early life and career

Allen's father, Maurice, was a big band drummer. [2] As a child, his father played records for him; these included recordings of tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, which made a lasting impression. [2]

In high school he was an exceptional talent able to play tunes such as Body and Soul in the style of tenor players Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Flip Phillips. [3] While in high school Allen was also influenced by recordings of Scott Hamilton. [2]

Allen graduated from Rutgers University in 1988. [2]

Allen was described by C. Michael Bailey as "the 'Frank Sinatra' of the tenor saxophone: a master interpreter of standards" in 2008. [4] Along with Scott Hamilton, Allen was considered by British critic Dave Gelly in 2004 to be one of the "finest exponents of swing tenor alive today" in a review of their album Heavy Juice. [5]

Discography

As leader/co-leaders

References

  1. ↑ Cook, Richard (2005). Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia. London: Penguin Books. pp. 8–9. ISBN   0-141-00646-3.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Dryden, Ken (July 2015) "Harry Allen". The New York Jazz Record. p. 6.
  3. ↑ Harry Allen, Body and Soul on the album Coast to Coast , 1983/84 McDonald's All-American High School Jazz Band, McDonald's MDC 91884, 1984
  4. ↑ Blankenship, Bill. "Blues, folk and jazz fill Topeka venues | CJOnline.com". www.cjonline.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2025-08-16.
  5. ↑ Gelly, Dave (September 19, 2004). "Scott Hamilton & Harry Allen, Heavy Juice". The Observer. London. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.