Jazz Articles about Allan Harris

Allan Harris: Live At The Blue LLama

by Dave Linn
July 22, 2023

Allan Harris has had a varied musical journey. Brooklyn-born, he grew up surrounded by the sounds of jazz, blues, and R&B. His mother often played records by artists like Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. These influences shaped his musical sensibilities and inspired him to pursue a music career. He recorded his debut album, Setting The Standard (Love Records) in 1994 at the age of 38. Over the next 27 years, he released 12 more records ...

La nicchia del canto jazz maschile

by Angelo Leonardi
August 20, 2019

A eccezione di pochi nomi--in particolare Kurt Elling, Gregory Porter, Bobby McFerrin e il veterano Tony Bennett--il canto jazz maschile è nettamente sottoesposto rispetto a quello femminile. Esempi eclatanti di questo sono stati Jon Hendricks e Mark Murphy, scomparsi di recente senza aver avuto la considerazione che meritavano. Allan Harris e Fred Farell sono due interpreti sessantenni dai percorsi e dalle coordinate stilistiche diverse ma accomunati da una carriera artistica di nicchia. Harris ha ottenuto il primo ...

Allan Harris at SMOKE Jazz & Supper Club

by Peter Jurew
October 6, 2016

Allan Harris SMOKE Jazz & Supper Club New York, NY September 28, 2016 Allan Harris was born in Brooklyn to a tight-knit family that loved music. His mother was a classical piano prodigy who grew up in Harlem and graduated in the first class of the High School Of Performing Arts, along with her friend, Arthur Mitchell, the noted dancer, choreographer and co-founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Allan grew up hearing a wide ...

Allan Harris & Takana Miyamoto: Convergence

by C. Michael Bailey
May 31, 2012

Allan Harris & Takana MiyamotoConvergenceLove Production Records2012 A nostalgic trend that has gained traction in the last decade is that of bands (generally jam bands) performing “classic" rock albums live in their entirety, typically on Halloween or New Year's Eve. Some of the more notable examples of this include Phish's recent covers of the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. (Self Produced, 2009), Little Feat's Waiting for Columbus (Self Produced, 2010), ...

Allan Harris & Takana Miyamoto: Convergence

by Dan Bilawsky
May 8, 2012

The eternal bond between piano and voice in jazz was cemented long before pianist Bill Evans and vocalist Tony Bennett ever took to the studio together, but they elevated this union of sounds to artistic heights ne'er before attained. Bennett and Evans erased the notions of vocals on top and pianist-as-mere-accompanist with The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album (Fantasy, 1975) and its less glorified follow-up, Together Again (Improv, 1977). They created a synergy in song craft that few before or since ...

Allan Harris: The Songs of Strayhorn

by C. Michael Bailey
November 1, 2001

This writer finally gets Strayhorn.

Tony Bennett considers Allan Harris to be his favorite vocalist. That is almost as profound as Frank Sinatra considering Tony Bennett his favorite vocalist. Mr. Bennett heaps no faint praise on Mr. Harris. Allan Harris is a very accomplished vocalist devoid of all of the barking and groaning afflicting many young singers in jazz today. I would liken Mr. Harris is a higher-range Johnny Hartman. He is very much in the hip crooner category. And ...

Allan Harris: The Songs of Strayhorn

by Dave Nathan
November 1, 2001

Vocalist Allan Harris has daringly chosen to record an album dedicated solely to the compositions of Billy Strayhorn. Daring because, first, lyrics to Strayhorn tunes can be difficult to successfully put across to the listener; second, because they are mainly about unrequited unfilled love and are hardly ever cheerful, and third, several lyrics on the play list are rarely heard so will be unrecognizable to everyone except the most committed Strayhorn devotees. It turns out that these are not daunting ...