Jazz Articles about Harry Allen

Harry Allen and Joe Temperley: Cocktails For Two

by Joel Roberts
September 7, 2007

Swing is the thing on this enormously enjoyable outing by baritone saxophonist Joe Temperley and tenor saxophonist Harry Allen. The album features the 77-year-old Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra stalwart Temperley and the 40-year-old ex-wunderkind Allen leading a superbly sympathetic rhythm section (John Bunch on piano, Greg Cohen on bass and Jake Hanna on drums) in front of an appreciative audience at the Rocky Mountain Jazz Party in Denver. This isn't a take-no-prisoners saxophone battle in the mold ...

Harry Allen: In A Mellow Tone

by Jason Crane
January 23, 2007

Tenor saxophonist Harry Allen was born in Washington, D.C. in 1966, but he grew up in California and Rhode Island. His father was a drummer who played jazz records for Allen before kindergarten, and that early exposure set the course for his professional life. Unlike many saxophonists of his generation, Allen chose not to emulate John Coltrane's sound, choosing a mellower path. The result? Decades of touring the world and recording albums. His latest album is called Hey, Look Me ...

Harry Allen: In A Mellow Tone

by Jason Crane
January 10, 2007

Harry Allen: Jazz For The Heart: Ballads II

by Michael P. Gladstone
November 5, 2006

File Under: Concentrate of Stan Getz (ballad division)!

Harry Allen is not exactly a new act. Yet, after some 26 albums under his own name and sideman dates on many others, the saxophonist is hardly a recognizable name to the general public. Too bad, since this recording is among his best and certainly most evocative of a protracted ballad session by Stan Getz. Thematically, the album is perfect for a romantic evening, covering a lengthy 72 minutes. My ...

The Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet: Hey, Look Me Over

by Marcia Hillman
July 17, 2006

As written in the liner notes, Harry Allen and Joe Cohn “fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Joined by Joel Forbes (bass) and Chuck Riggs (drums), Allen's tenor sax and Cohn's guitar play their way through several originals and a collection of standards that have not been overexposed. Both Allen and Cohn have been influenced by some of the major musicians on their respective instruments while developing their own styles. They also share a similar ...

The Harry Allen - Joe Cohn Quartet: Hey, Look Me Over

by Edward Blanco
May 7, 2006

The Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet was recently nominated for the best small ensemble of the year by the Jazz Journalist Association for its 2006 Jazz Awards. Hey, Look Me Over offers several convincing reasons why. Playing a selection of jazz standards favoring the harmonious marriage of the tenor and guitar, Allen and Cohn fashion ten tracks of brisk and mellow music with a good dose of swing. Their quartet, featuring bassist Joel Forbes and drummer Chuck Riggs, performs regularly on ...

Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen: Heavy Juice

by Ken Franckling
December 5, 2004

This CD has been a recording waiting to happen for twenty years. Back then, highschooler Harry Allen joined Scott Hamilton on stage at the Newport Jazz Festival for a cameo performance with the George Wein-led Newport All-Stars. Allen grew up in Rhode Island, which also claims Hamilton as a native son. And Hamilton certainly was a role model as Allen blossomed then—and fast became a welcome young player on the New York swing jazz scene.They've had occasional chances ...