Harry Allen (born October 12, 1966) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

tenor saxophonist born in Washington, D.C. He is a traditionalist in the manner of Scott Hamilton. He is best known for his work with

John Colianni John Colianni (born 1966) is an American jazz pianist. Early life The son of Patricia Colaianni and journalist James F. Colaianni, John Colianni was born in Paterson, New Jersey on January 7, 1966 and grew up in Maryland. Duke Ellington perf ...

Dori Caymmi Dorival "Dori" Tostes Caymmi (born 26 August 1943) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, guitarist, arranger, and producer. Biography Caymmi was born in Rio de Janeiro to parents who were musicians, his father Dorival Caymmi a composer and his mot ...

Keith Ingham Keith Christopher Ingham (born 5 February 1942) is an English jazz pianist, mainly active in swing and Dixieland revival. Early life and education Ingham was born in London on 5 February 1942. His father played the organ in churches. Ingham was ...

John Pizzarelli John Paul Pizzarelli Jr. (born April 6, 1960, in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist. He has recorded over twenty solo albums and has appeared on more than forty albums by other recording artists, including Paul McCa ...

, and

Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist. He was the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and double bassist Martin Pizzarelli. He worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) ...

Early life and career

Allen's father, Maurice, was a big band drummer. As a child, his father played records for him; these included recordings of tenor saxophonist

Paul Gonsalves Paul Gonsalves ( – ) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's " Diminuendo and Crescendo in Bl ...

, which made a lasting impression. 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 Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

, and Flip Phillips. While in high school Allen was also influenced by recordings of Scott Hamilton. Allen graduated from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

in 1988.Dryden, Ken (July 2015) "Harry Allen". ''The New York Jazz Record''. p. 6. Allen was described by C. Michael Bailey as "the '

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

' of the tenor saxophone: a master interpreter of standards" in 2008. Along with Scott Hamilton, Allen was considered by British critic

Dave Gelly Dave Gelly MBE (born 28 January 1938) is a British jazz critic. A long-standing contributor to ''The Observer'', he was named Jazz Writer of the Year in the 1999 British Jazz Awards. Gelly is also a jazz saxophonist and broadcaster, presenting a n ...

in 2004 to be one of the "finest exponents of swing tenor alive today" in a review of their album ''Heavy Juice''.

Discography

As leader/co-leaders

* ''How Long Has This Been Going On?'' (Progressive, 1989) * ''The King'' (Nagel Heyer, 1994) * ''I'll Never Be the Same'' (Master Mix, 1994) * ''Blue Skies: Jazz Ballads from the 1930s to Today'' (John Marks, 1994) * ''Harry Allen Meets John Pizzarelli Trio'' with

(BMG, 1996) * ''Tenors Anyone?'' (BMG, 1997) – recorded in 1996 * ''Here's to Zoot'' (BMG, 1997) * ''The Music of the Trumpet Kings'' with Randy Sandke (Nagel-Heyer, 1997) * ''Eu Nao Quero Dancar (I Won't Dance)'' (RCA Victor/BMG/Novus, 1998) * ''Harry Allen Plays Ellington Songs'' with The Bill Charlap Trio (RCA Victor, 2000) – recorded in 1999 * ''Christmas in Swingtime'' (BMG, 2000) * ''Dreamer'' (BMG, 2001) * ''I Love Mancini'' (BMG, 2002) * ''I Can See Forever'' (BMG, 2002) * ''The Harry Allen Quartet'' (2003) * ''If Ever You Were Mine'' (BMG, 2003) * ''Plays The Hits of Stage & Screen'' with The

Trio (BMG, 2004) * ''Tenors Anyone?'' (Slider Music, 2004) * ''Heavy Juice'' with Scott Hamilton (Concord, 2004) * ''Isn't This a Lovely Day'' with

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored ...

Trio (BMG, 2004) * ''Jazz for the Soul'' (McMahon Jazz Medicine, 2005) * ''Barnestorming'' with Alan Barnes (Woodville, 2007) – recorded in 2006 * ''Viva! Bossa Nova'' (BMG, 2008) * ''New York State of Mind'' (Challenge, 2009) * ''When Larry Met Harry'' with Larry Goldings (Cafe Society, 2010) * ''The Harry Allen Quintet Plays Music from The Sound of Music'' (Arbors, 2011) * ''Live at Feinstein's at Loews Regency'' with Rebecca Kilgore (Arbors, 2011) – live * ''Blues for Pres and Teddy'' (Swingbros, 2011) – featuring

Bill Charlap William Morrison Charlap (born October 15, 1966, pronounced "Shar-Lap") is an American jazz pianist. In 2016, '' The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern'', an album produced by Charlap and Tony Bennett, won the award for Best Traditional Pop ...

* ''I Walk with Music: The Hoagy Carmichael Songbook'' with Rossano Sportiello, Joel Forbes (Gac, 2013) * ''For George, Cole and Duke'' with

Ehud Asherie Ehud Asherie (born 1979) is a jazz pianist and organist. Early life Asherie was born in Israel in 1979.Reney, Tom (February 8, 2012"Is Ehud Asherie in Town?" JazzTimes. He moved with his family to Italy at the age of three, where he attended the ...

, Nicki Parrott,

Chuck Redd Chuck Redd (born September 10, 1958) is an American jazz drummer and vibraphonist. Career Redd began touring and recording when he joined the Charlie Byrd Trio at the age of 21. He also joined The Great Guitars ( Barney Kessel, Charlie Byrd, ...

(Blue Heron, 2014) * ''Something about Jobim'' with Joyce, Tutty Moreno, &c (Stunt, 2015) * ''Live!'' with Scott Hamilton (Gac, 2016) – live * ''The Candy Men'' (Arbors, 2016) – recorded in 2015 * ''Can You Love Me Once More'' with

Judy Carmichael Judy Carmichael (born November 27, 1957) is a Grammy-nominated jazz pianist and vocalist who has been honored as a Steinway Artist.

(Gac, 2016) * ''French Lullaby'' (

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

, 2018) – recorded in 2017 * Three Tenors, ''Like The Brightest Star'' with Ken Peplowski, Scott Hamilton (Venus, 2019)

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Harry 1966 births American jazz tenor saxophonists American male saxophonists Living people Musicians from Washington, D.C. 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Nagel-Heyer Records artists Arbors Records artists Concord Records artists RCA Records artists