Carl Allen (born April 25, 1961) 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

drummer. Allen attended

William Paterson University William Paterson University, known as WP, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 an ...

. He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, George Coleman, Phil Woods, the Benny Green Trio, and

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. Over the course of a career that spans five decades and 15 studio albums, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, an ...

. It was with Green that Allen met bassist Christian McBride. The two have teamed up frequently, working for many combos of big name leaders. McBride recruited Allen for his band, Christian McBride & Inside Straight. Allen is that quintet's drummer for both its first recording, ''Kinda Brown'', and its road tours. In 1988, Allen and Vincent Herring founded Big Apple Productions, which produced several albums featuring young jazz performers. He joined the faculty of

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in 2001 and became the Artistic Director of Jazz Studies in 2008. He was replaced as director by Wynton Marsalis in 2013 and left Juilliard at the end of the academic year. In 2011, Allen appeared as himself in two episodes of the HBO series '' Tremé'' in a studio recording scene in New York City. In 2014, he formed his own group, The Art of Elvin, to pay tribute to drummers Art Blakey and

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...

. The band debuted at the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) conference in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

with Allen on drums, Freddie Hendrix (trumpet), Tivon Pennicott (tenor sax), Xavier Davis (piano), and Yasushi Nakamura (bass). In 2021, Allen joined the faculty of th
University of Missouri - Kansas City (UKMC) Conservatory
as the William D. and Mary Grant Endowed Professor of Jazz Studies.

Discography

As leader

* ''The Pursuer'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, 1994) * '' Testimonial'' (Atlantic, 1995) Collaborations * ''Live from the Detroit Jazz Festival 2013'' ( Mack Avenue, 2014) Co-led with Rodney Whitaker * ''Get Ready'' (Mack Avenue, 2007) * ''Work to Do'' (Mack Avenue, 2009) With Manhattan Project * ''Dreamboat'' (Alfa Jazz/Timeless , 2000) * ''Piccadilly Square'' (Alfa Jazz/Timeless ) * ''The Dark Side of Dewey'' (Alfa Jazz/Evidence , 1996) * ''Echoes of Our Heroes'' (Alfa Jazz Japan, 1996) * ''We Remember Cannonball'' (Alfa Jazz Japan, 1997)

As sideman

With Don Braden * '' After Dark'' ( Criss Cross, 1994) * ''The Time Is Now'' (Criss Cross, 1994) * ''Wish List'' (Criss Cross, 1994) With Cyrus Chestnut * ''The Nutman Speaks'' (Alfa Jazz ) * ''The Nutman Speaks Again'' (Alfa Jazz , 2003) * ''Another Direction'' (Alfa Jazz ) With

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

* '' The Company I Keep'' ( Arabesque, 1994) * '' The Meaning of Art'' (Arabesque, 1995) * ''

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

'' (Arabesque, 1997) With Benny Golson * '' Up Jumped Benny'' (Arkadia Jazz, 1997) * '' One Day, Forever'' (Arkadia Jazz, 2001) – recorded in 1999 * '' Terminal 1'' (Concord, 2004) * '' New Time, New 'Tet'' (Concord, 2009) * '' Horizon Ahead'' (HighNote, 2016) With the Benny Green Trio * ''Blue Notes'' (Toshiba-EMI Japan) * ''That's Right'' ( Blue Note) * ''Testifyin!'' (Blue Note) With Vincent Herring * ''

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

'' (Landmark, 1991) * '' Dawnbird'' (Landmark, 1993) * '' Folklore: Live at the Village Vanguard'' (MusicMasters, 1994) With Freddie Hubbard * '' Life Flight'' (Blue Note) * ''Topsy'' (Alfa Jazz ) * '' MMTC'' (MusicMasters ) With Jackie McLean * ''Dynasty'' (Triloka) * ''Rites of Passage'' (Triloka) * ''The J-Mac Attack'' (Birdology/Verve ) With

Woody Shaw Woody Herman Shaw Jr. (December 24, 1944 – May 10, 1989) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, arranger, band leader, and educator. Shaw is widely known as one of the 20th century's most important and influentia ...

* '' Double Take'' (with Freddie Hubbard, Blue Note, 1985) * '' The Eternal Triangle'' (with Freddie Hubbard, Blue Note, 1985) * ''

Imagination Imagination is the production of sensations, feelings and thoughts informing oneself. These experiences can be re-creations of past experiences, such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes ...

'' (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, 1987) With Christian McBride * '' People Music'' (Mack Avenue, 2013) * '' Live at the Village Vanguard'' (Mack Avenue, 2021) With others * Arkadia Jazz All Stars, ''Thank You, Joe!'' * Eric Alexander, ''Full Range'' (Criss Cross, 1994) * Donald Brown, '' Sources of Inspiration'' (Muse, 1989) * Donald Byrd, '' A City Called Heaven'' (Landmark, 1991) * Dan Faulk, ''Focusing In'' (Criss Cross Jazz, 1992) * Ricky Ford, '' Hot Brass'' (Muse, 1991) * Donald Harrison and Terrence Blanchard, ''Crystal Stair'' (Columbia Records, 1987) *

Dewey Redman Walter Dewey Redman (May 17, 1931 – September 2, 2006) was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett. Redman mainly played tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also played alto s ...

, '' African Venus'' (

, 1992) * Phil Woods, ''Alto Summit'' ( Milestone, 1996) * Eliane Elias, '' Everything I Love'' (Blue Note and EMI, 2000) * George Freeman, ''The Good Life'' (HighNote 2023)

References

External links

Official siteDiscography at SonyBMG Masterworks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Carl American jazz drummers African-American drummers 1961 births Living people Drummers from Wisconsin 20th-century American drummers American male drummers William Paterson University alumni 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century American drummers 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians