Jazz Articles about Mike Allen

About Mike Allen

Album Review

If you're a tenor saxophonist leading a piano-less trio, much of the group's melodic and harmonic components rest squarely on your shoulders. In spite of that--or perhaps because of it--Canadian tenor Mike Allen says he prefers working within that framework, as he has been doing for many years. If that is one's choice, he may as well recruit as comrades in arms the best bassist and drummer available. On To a Star, Allen has done precisely that, ...

Album Review

Mike Allen: Just Like Magic

Read "Just Like Magic" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
June 3, 2019

Mike Allen is another in an apparently never-ending line of talented saxophonists who seem to emerge, from time to time, from the Canadian provinces to ensnare the hearts and earn the admiration not only of their fellow countrymen but jazz enthusiasts in other climes as well. On Just Like Magic, Allen leads a deft and experienced trio whose other members are bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash. In a program that encompasses five of his original ...

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Album Review

Mike Allen: Change Is

by David A. Orthmann
July 1, 2001

Despite a handful of excellent recordings of trios led by giants like Sonny Rollins, Elvin Jones, and Joe Lovano, the saxophone, bass, and drums configuration has not been a particularly successful ensemble within the jazz mainstream. Simply stated, it’s a tough act to pull off for an extended period of time, especially for less experienced musicians. The absence of harmonic guideposts normally provided by a piano or guitar (not to mention their contribution as an additional soloist) magnifies the presence ...