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Mike Allen

Mike is a Vancouver-based jazz saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, and educator.

About Me

Mike Allen's saxophone playing is often compared to his former teachers Joe Henderson and Joe Lovano. Jazz Journal International calls him “an accomplished musician who has studied Coltrane in depth and forged a style that is fresh and vital”. The Ottawa Citizen calls him “Canada's top tenor saxophonist”. He is profiled in Mark Miller's Companion to Jazz in Canada, has a Masters in Jazz from New York University, and was the Jazz Director at Western Washington Unversity from 2010- 15. He has performed and recorded with Cedar Walton, Julian Priester, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Liebman, Chuck Israels, John Taylor, Don Friedman, and Donald Bailey. A member of Canadian guitar legend Sonny Greenwich’s quintet from 1990- 95, Mike is featured on “Standard Idioms” (Kleo) and “Fragments Of A Memory” (Cornerstone). “One of a Half-Dozen Interesting Canadians To Watch” (Toronto Globe & Mail) Mike performs primarily on the west coast of Canada, has produced 14 albums to date and is a sidemusician on Michael Bublé’s Grammy Winning “Crazy Love”. He is involved in several band projects and teaches private instruction at Capilano University in North Vancouver.

My Jazz Story

Jazz is the best thing in life.