The Harry Allen Duo & Trio - I'll Never Be the Same

Styles: Jazz
Year: 1995
Time: 70:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 161,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:20) 1. All Through the Night
(6:09) 2. I Won't Dance
(2:52) 3. I'll Close My Eyes
(5:19) 4. I'm Gonna Sit Down and Write Myself a Letter
(5:33) 5. Avalon
(5:15) 6. Estate
(5:40) 7. Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
(5:42) 8. I'll Never Be the Same
(4:37) 9. It's Alright with Me
(3:00) 10. Shining Sea
(4:51) 11. Waltz for Debbie
(5:03) 12. Roses of Picardy
(6:41) 13. Fascinating Rhythm
(4:05) 14. If I Love Again

Gene Lees writes, "Stan Getz was once asked his idea of the perfect tenor saxophone soloist. His answer was, 'My technique, Al Cohn's ideas, and Zoot's time.' The fulfillment of that ideal may well be embodied in thirty-year-old Harry Allen."

BMG recording artist Harry Allen has over twenty recordings to his name. Three of Harry's CDs have won Gold Disc Awards from Japan's Swing Journal Magazine, and his CD Tenors Anyone? won both the Gold Disc Award and the New Star Award. His recordings have made the top ten list for favorite new releases in Swing Journal Magazine's reader's poll and Jazz Journal International's critic's poll for 1997, and Eu Nao Quero Dancar (I Won't Dance), the third Gold Disc Award winner, was voted second for album of the year for 1998 by Swing Journal Magazine‚s reader‚s poll.

Harry has performed at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide, frequently touring the United States, Europe, and the Far East. He has performed with Rosemary Clooney, Ray Brown, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Flip Phillips, Scott Hamilton, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Gus Johnson, Jeff Hamilton, Terry Gibbs, Warren Vache, and has recorded with Tony Bennett, Johnny Mandel, Ray Brown, Tommy Flanagan, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Barron, Dave McKenna, Dori Caymmi, Larry Goldings, George Mraz, Jake Hanna, and Al Foster, among others.

Harry is featured on many of John Pizzarelli's recordings including the soundtrack and an on-screen cameo in the feature film The Out of Towners starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. He has also done a series of commercials for ESPN starring Robert Goulet.

Harry was born in Washington D.C. in 1966, and was raised in Los Angeles, CA and Burrillville, RI. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music in 1988 from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and currently resides in New York City.https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/harry-allen/

I'll Never Be the Same

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Jacintha - The Girl from Bossa Nova

Styles: Vocal, Brazilian Jazz, Bossa Nova
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:17
Size: 104,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:34) 1. O Ganso
(3:15) 2. So Danço Samba
(4:48) 3. Dindi
(3:44) 4. Once I Loved
(4:32)  5. Desafinado
(5:07) 6. So Nice
(5:08) 7. Wave
(5:06) 8. How Insensitive
(4:51) 9. Corcovado
(4:07) 10. Waters Of March

Jacintha picks up the tempo on her first bossa nova session. Featuring a program of some of the most well known classics of the genre, including several Jobim favorites like So Nice, Desafinado, Dindi and Corcovado, as well as less familiar tunes like O Ganso and So Danco Samba, this CD is a striking change of pace for Jacintha. With superb work from tenor Harry Allen and guitarist John Pisano (ex-Diana Krall), the album's supreme finishing is the magical playing of legendary Brazilian master percussionist Paulinho Da Costa, who blesses the entire album with an authentic bossa nova vibe.By Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Bossa-Nova-Jacintha/dp/B00027JYWQ


Personnel: Acoustic Guitar – John Pisano; Bass – Darek Oleszkiewicz; Drums – Tim Pleasant; Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa; Piano – Bill Cunliffe; Tenor Saxophone – Harry Allen ; Vocals – Jacintha .

The Girl from Bossa Nova

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Harry Allen Quartet - London Date

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:07
Size: 142,6 MB
Art: Front

( 7:56) 1. This is My Lucky Day
( 9:47) 2. a)A Time For Love...Mandel/Webster b)You Are There
(11:03) 3. June Song
( 9:35) 4. Where No Man Has Gone Before (Theme From Star Trek)
( 6:40) 5. Here's That Rainy Day
(10:02) 6. (Back Home Again in) Indiana
( 7:02) 7. Our Love is Here to Stay

'London Date' is a live recording of a quartet featuring the incredible US jazz saxophonist Harry Allen recorded at the Watermill Jazz Club with Italian pianist Andrea Pozza, gifted bassist Simon Woolf and ever popular drummer Steve Brown. Fans of the long lineage of the saxophone greats will not be disappointed. Harry Allen can be instantly lined up as a disciple of the late Stan Getz, but he has absorbed far more of the jazz saxophone tradition with elements of Hawkins, Webster, Zoot and Al, and elements from one of his teachers Scott Hamilton. However, Harry Allen's voice is very much his own and as fresh as any on the contemporary scene. With a formidable technique and searing sound Harry Allen continues the tradition of the great saxophonists before him. The material on the CD is a straight blowing set of jazz standards, a couple of great originals penned by Harry Allen and Judy Carmichael and the theme to Star Trek based on the standard "Out of Nowhere". https://www.amazon.co.uk/London-Date-Harry-Allen-Quartet/dp/B01BL3214W

Personnel: Harry Allen (tenor saxophone), Andrea Pozza (piano), Simon Woolf (double bass), Steve Brown (drums)

London Date

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Harry Allen & Luigi Grasso - Live at the Duc des Lombards Vol.1, Vol.2

Harry Allen & Luigi Grasso - Live at the Duc des Lombards Vol.1

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2018
Time: 75:27
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 172,7 MB
Art: Front

( 9:02) 1. Step Right Up
(13:06) 2. Lady Be Good
( 9:13) 3. You ’n’ Me
( 8:22) 4. Harry Allen Ballad Composition
(11:21) 5. In the Still of the Night
( 7:00) 6. Wes’ Tune
(11:09) 7. The Blues up and Down
( 6:10) 8. One for Duke

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Harry Allen & Luigi Grasso - Live at the Duc des Lombards Vol.2

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 180,6 MB
Art: Front

( 9:32) 1. Step right up
( 4:47) 2. Wes' Tune
( 9:35) 3. Stuffy
( 7:08) 4. One for the Duke
( 8:03) 5. You 'n' Me
( 5:36) 6. Prelude to a kiss
( 8:52) 7. The Birth of the Blues
( 9:32) 8. In the still of the night
( 5:28) 9. Old Joe
(10:16) 10. Blues up and down

Gene Lees writes, "Stan Getz was once asked his idea of the perfect tenor saxophone soloist. His answer was, 'My technique, Al Cohn's ideas, and Zoot's time.' The fulfillment of that ideal may well be embodied in thirty-year-old Harry Allen."

BMG recording artist Harry Allen has over twenty recordings to his name. Three of Harry's CDs have won Gold Disc Awards from Japan's Swing Journal Magazine, and his CD Tenors Anyone? won both the Gold Disc Award and the New Star Award. His recordings have made the top ten list for favorite new releases in Swing Journal Magazine's reader's poll and Jazz Journal International's critic's poll for 1997, and Eu Nao Quero Dancar (I Won't Dance), the third Gold Disc Award winner, was voted second for album of the year for 1998 by Swing Journal Magazine‚s reader‚s poll.

Harry has performed at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide, frequently touring the United States, Europe, and the Far East. He has performed with Rosemary Clooney, Ray Brown, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Flip Phillips, Scott Hamilton, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Gus Johnson, Jeff Hamilton, Terry Gibbs, Warren Vache, and has recorded with Tony Bennett, Johnny Mandel, Ray Brown, Tommy Flanagan, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Barron, Dave McKenna, Dori Caymmi, Larry Goldings, George Mraz, Jake Hanna, and Al Foster, among others.

Harry is featured on many of John Pizzarelli's recordings including the soundtrack and an on-screen cameo in the feature film The Out of Towners starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. He has also done a series of commercials for ESPN starring Robert Goulet.

Harry was born in Washington D.C. in 1966, and was raised in Los Angeles, CA and Burrillville, RI. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music in 1988 from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and currently resides in New York City.https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/harry-allen/

Personnel: Harry Allen - Tenor Sax, Luigi Grasso - Alto Sax, Dave Blenkhorn - Guitar, Sebastien Girardot - Bass, Guillaume Nouaux - Drums

Live at the Duc des Lombards Vol. 1, Vol.2

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Harry Allen & Ken Peplowski & Scott Hamilton - Like The Brightest Star

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:47
Size: 165,5 MB
Art: Front

(9:58) 1. You And The Night And The Music
(7:24) 2. Like The Brightest Star
(7:39) 3. Somebody I Just Met
(8:51) 4. Topsy
(3:42) 5. It Was So Beautiful
(5:33) 6. Das Blues
(6:59) 7. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(4:59) 8. That Old Black Magic
(5:32) 9. Old Folks
(9:04) 10. Sleep

The three major masters of Tenor Saxoph, Harry Allen & Ken Peplofski & Scott Hamilton This masterpiece allows you to fully listen to the charm of the Jazz Tenor Sax in an ensemble by Solo. Recorded at The Hideaway Studio in California at February 19 & 20, 2019.
https://www.amazon.com/Like-Brightest-Star-Three-Tenors/dp/B07Y1XMMHJ

Personnel: Harry Allen Harry Allen - tenor sax; Ken Peplowski - tenor sax; Scott Hamilton - tenor sax; Tom Lanier - Tom Ranier - piano; David Stone - bass; Kevin Canner Kevin Kanner - drums

Like The Brightest Star

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Terry Gibbs Legacy Band - The Terry Gibbs Songbook

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:52
Size: 167,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:58) 1. Let's Go to Rio
(4:33) 2. Those Eyes, Those Lips, That Nose, That Face, That Girl
(5:08) 3. I Was Loved
(5:54) 4. Now's the Time to Groove
(4:10) 5. The House That Might Have Been
(4:27) 6. Nina
(4:47) 7. I Can Hardly Wait for Saturday Night
(5:02) 8. If I Were You
(3:18) 9. Play and Sing
(4:27) 10. Lonely Days
(4:57) 11. And That's Why They Call It the Blues
(4:33) 12. Say Goodbye
(5:53) 13. Stay with Me Tonight
(3:58) 14. If I Knew Then
(5:41) 15. Sweet Young Song of Love

Legacy Band? At age ninety-eight, vibraphonist Terry Gibbs the last remaining member of a legendary group of jazz musicians who defined the big-band era in America and helped expand and sharpen the music's vocabulary hasn't finished writing his own legacy, which is why this album is subtitled "The Terry Gibbs Songbook."

Although best known as a player, Gibbs, as it turns out, is a splendid composer as well, and wrote every one of the album's fifteen songs, adding lyrics to a couple, with verses elsewhere courtesy of Michael Dees, Arthur Hamilton, Bobby Troup, Steve Allen and Jerry Gladstone. He even sings (in his own sweet way) and plays two-finger piano on the well-named "Now's the Time to Groove." As no lyricist is named on the ballad "If I Knew Then," the presumption is that Gibbs wrote both music and lyrics to that one.

Speaking of vocalists, Danny Bacher is the main man here, and he proves an admirable fit, giving every lyric its due and sparring playfully with Gibbs on "Now's the Time." When Bacher isn't holding court, the tunes are in the capable hands of the six-member Legacy Band, trimly anchored by Gibbs' son, drummer Gerry, with the marvelous Tom Ranier on piano, Mike Gurrola on bass and a superlative two-tenor front line consisting of Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen (whose solos are unlisted but essentially interchangeable).

As for the elder Gibbs' themes, they are bright and pleasing with an emphasis on soulfulness and emotion and a handful ("Let's Go to Rio," "And That's Why They Call It the Blues," "Stay with Me Tonight," "Sweet Young Song of Love") that stand out among the herd. That's not to say that anything else is less than engaging, as each one of Gibbs' songs has a temperament and charm of its own, and his ballads are well worth one's time and awareness.

As Terry Gibbs explains in his liner notes, he never intended that an album of his music should be recorded; he simply wanted to hear one of the songs he had written while in his nineties performed by professional musicians. But after sending a copy to lyricist Alan Bergman, he writes, one thing led to another...and now fifteen of his more than two hundred compositions have been recorded by the Legacy Band. While Gibbs calls that "a fluke," most listeners would call it a stroke of good fortune. Legacy or no, these songs deserve to be heard, and Terry Gibbs' stature as a jazz legend has grown even larger because of them.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-terry-gibbs-songbook-terry-gibbs-legacy-band-whaling-city-sound__8441

Personnel: Scott Hamilton: saxophone, tenor; Harry Allen: saxophone; Tom Ranier: piano; Danny Bacher: voice / vocals; Mike Gurrola: bass; Gerry Gibbs: drums.

The Terry Gibbs Songbook

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Harry Allen - Jazz For The Heart

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:09
Size: 165.2 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[5:22] 1. (I Don't Stand A) Ghost Of A Chance With You
[5:34] 2. Nancy (With The Laughing Face)
[5:54] 3. September Song
[8:08] 4. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
[3:11] 5. Mona Lisa
[5:23] 6. Skylark
[5:01] 7. Teach Me Tonight
[4:39] 8. Moonlight In Vermont
[6:22] 9. Night Train
[5:07] 10. If There's A Sky Above
[3:45] 11. You Go To My Head
[4:54] 12. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
[4:35] 13. In The Wee Small Hours (Of The Morning)
[4:08] 14. I'll Be Seeing You

Harry Allen: tenor saxophone; John Bunch: piano; Joe Cohn: guitar; Joel Forbes: bass; Chuck Riggs: drums.

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 one reservation is that midway through the album, the Jimmy Forrest standard "Night Train" is played as a mid-tempo blues (as it should be) and damages the mood that the preceding tracks had established.

Harry Allen was a graduate of Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1989 with a music degree and found himself immersed in the New York recording scene with an unexpected opportunity to sit in for Zoot Sims at a session. He has been recording for independent labels like Nagel-Heyer, Progressive and Audiophile, and he's been an RCA recording artist for the past eight years. Now he primarily works within the Harry Allen and Joe Cohn Quartet, a group that was awarded the New York City Nightlife Award for Outstanding Jazz Combo in January, 2006.

Allen's latest release is a followup to last year's Jazz for the Soul and his musical colleagues here are truly veterans of the jazz scene: pianist John Bunch, guitarist Joe Cohn, bassist Joel Forbes and drummer Chuck Riggs. The album is a tribute to the ballads of the Great American Songbook, with one Allen original included ("If There's A Sky Above"). Some of the titles include the Washington/Crosby/Young piece "I Don't Stand A Ghost of a Chance," Johnny Mercer/Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark" and Hilliard/Mann's "In The Wee Small Hours (Of The Morning)," featuring Joe Cohn's tasty inclusion of the rarely heard verse.

The above reference to Stan Getz is not meant in any way to imply that Allen's music is derivative. Rather, it is an affirmation of this artist's mastery of a style that has been recognized as a significant achievement. Hopefully, some of that will rub off, belatedly, on Allen's career. ~Michael P. Gladstone

Jazz For The Heart

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Harry Allen - 007 Songs

Styles: Stage & Screen
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:25
Size: 159,5 MB
Art: Front

(0:25) 1. The James Bond Theme
(5:20) 2. Surrender
(5:10) 3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
(2:53) 4. You Only Live Twice
(7:19) 5. From Russia With Love
(7:24) 6. Nobody Does It Better
(4:11) 7. Goldeneye
(6:18) 8. We Have All The Time In The World
(6:05) 9. Goldfinger
(4:28) 10. All Time High
(5:34) 11. For Your Eyes Only
(7:08) 12. Thunderball
(3:03) 13. Moonraker
(2:00) 14. The James Bond Theme

Gene Lees writes, "Stan Getz was once asked his idea of the perfect tenor saxophone soloist. His answer was, 'My technique, Al Cohn's ideas, and Zoot's time.' The fulfillment of that ideal may well be embodied in thirty-year-old Harry Allen."

BMG recording artist Harry Allen has over twenty recordings to his name. Three of Harry's CDs have won Gold Disc Awards from Japan's Swing Journal Magazine, and his CD Tenors Anyone? won both the Gold Disc Award and the New Star Award. His recordings have made the top ten list for favorite new releases in Swing Journal Magazine's reader's poll and Jazz Journal International's critic's poll for 1997, and Eu Nao Quero Dancar (I Won't Dance), the third Gold Disc Award winner, was voted second for album of the year for 1998 by Swing Journal Magazine‚s reader‚s poll.

Harry has performed at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide, frequently touring the United States, Europe, and the Far East. He has performed with Rosemary Clooney, Ray Brown, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Flip Phillips, Scott Hamilton, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Gus Johnson, Jeff Hamilton, Terry Gibbs, Warren Vache, and has recorded with Tony Bennett, Johnny Mandel, Ray Brown, Tommy Flanagan, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Barron, Dave McKenna, Dori Caymmi, Larry Goldings, George Mraz, Jake Hanna, and Al Foster, among others.

Harry is featured on many of John Pizzarelli's recordings including the soundtrack and an on-screen cameo in the feature film The Out of Towners starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. He has also done a series of commercials for ESPN starring Robert Goulet.

Harry was born in Washington D.C. in 1966, and was raised in Los Angeles, CA and Burrillville, RI. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music in 1988 from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and currently resides in New York City.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/harry-allen/

007 Songs

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Scott Hamilton Quartet & Harry Allen - Burghausen Jazz Festival 2007

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 88:47
Size: 205,4 MB
Art: Front

( 8:45) 1. Just You, Just Me
( 8:06) 2. Lonesome Road
( 9:18) 3. Cotton Tail
( 5:52) 4. Chelsea Bridge
( 8:43) 5. Sweet Georgia Brown
(10:06) 6. Did You Call Her Today
( 9:48) 7. Tickle Toe
( 7:02) 8. This Is All I Ask
(12:26) 9. Blues Up & Down
( 8:36) 10. Blue Caper

Scott Hamilton is the premier 'mainstream' saxophonist of today. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1954, he came along at the time when the kind of jazz he loved-the small-group swing of such great stylists as Illinois Jacquet and Eddie Lockjaw Davis-was out of fashion, and largely out of the public ear. Scott's handsome sound and impeccable phrasing were a rare commodity among young jazzmen. So when he signed to Concord Records, and began making albums for label boss and mainstream advocate Carl Jefferson, it caused surprise and excitement among both devotees of the style, and in the wider musical world.

His first Concord set, [Scott Hamilton is A Good Wind Who IS Blowing Us No Ill] was made in 1977 and took it’s title from an admiring remark from veteran jazz critic Leonard Feather. But it became only the first in a long and memorable series of albums for the label, which now stretches to nearly 30 releases They feature Scoff's playing in all kinds of settings-with small groups, string orchestras, in partnership with such distinguished players as Ruby Braff and Dave McKenna, and in many other situations. The constant is Scoff's creative imagination and the beautiful, honeyed sound he gets out of the tenor saxophone.

While he acknowledges the sidelong influence of players such as John Coltrane, he continues to perform the music he loves, which first brought him into jazz - great ballads and blues, played from the heart, with the timeless virtues of swinging playing underscoring every phrase. A worldwide following of admirers wouldn't have it any other way. Long regarded a consummate interpreter of standards, Scoff Hamilton's big, warm tenor saxophone tone and unerring sense of swing have a way of making every tune he plays uniquely his own. For his latest Concord Jazz outing, Hamilton-with the help of his simpatico group featuring John Bunch (piano), Dave Green (bass), and Steve Brown (drums)-presents some of his very favorite tunes. Tunes which happen to have been penned by other great jazz players, including such legendary jazz musicians/composers as Dave Brubeck, Fats Waller, Illinois Jacquet, Benny Carter, and many others.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/scott-hamilton

Gene Lees writes, "Stan Getz was once asked his idea of the perfect tenor saxophone soloist. His answer was, 'My technique, Al Cohn's ideas, and Zoot's time.' The fulfillment of that ideal may well be embodied in thirty-year-old Harry Allen."

BMG recording artist Harry Allen has over twenty recordings to his name. Three of Harry's CDs have won Gold Disc Awards from Japan's Swing Journal Magazine, and his CD Tenors Anyone? won both the Gold Disc Award and the New Star Award. His recordings have made the top ten list for favorite new releases in Swing Journal Magazine's reader's poll and Jazz Journal International's critic's poll for 1997, and Eu Nao Quero Dancar (I Won't Dance), the third Gold Disc Award winner, was voted second for album of the year for 1998 by Swing Journal Magazine‚s reader‚s poll.

Harry has performed at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide, frequently touring the United States, Europe, and the Far East. He has performed with Rosemary Clooney, Ray Brown, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Flip Phillips, Scott Hamilton, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Gus Johnson, Jeff Hamilton, Terry Gibbs, Warren Vache, and has recorded with Tony Bennett, Johnny Mandel, Ray Brown, Tommy Flanagan, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Barron, Dave McKenna, Dori Caymmi, Larry Goldings, George Mraz, Jake Hanna, and Al Foster, among others.

Harry is featured on many of John Pizzarelli's recordings including the soundtrack and an on-screen cameo in the feature film The Out of Towners starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. He has also done a series of commercials for ESPN starring Robert Goulet.

Harry was born in Washington D.C. in 1966, and was raised in Los Angeles, CA and Burrillville, RI. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music in 1988 from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and currently resides in New York City.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/harry-allen

Personnel: Scott Hamilton - tenor sax; Harry Allen - tenor sax; Olaf Polziehn - piano; Dave Green - bass; Steve Brown - drums

Burghausen Jazz Festival 2007

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Scott Hamilton & Harry Allen - Heavy Juice

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:09
Size: 144,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:05)  1. Heavy Juice
(6:57)  2. Did You Call Her Today?
(7:02)  3. Groovin' High
(6:48)  4. If I Should Lose You
(6:28)  5. Blues Up and Down
(8:32)  6. If Dreams Come True
(5:47)  7. Warm Valley
(9:08)  8. Ow!
(6:20)  9. Strike Up The Band

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 to collaborate on the bandstand. And now, Heavy Juice enables them to join a line of great tenor summit session pairings that through the years have included Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins, Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon, Ammons and Sonny Stitt, and Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. This is a splendid session in which two good musical friends mine common musical ground with very similar sounds. Both favor a breathy, growling Webster tone at times. These days, Allen comes more out of a Stan Getz melodic bag, which Hamilton explored in an earlier phase. 

At times, when they're playing in unison or locked into the same tone, it helps to know that Hamilton is on the left stereo channel, Allen on the right. The crack rhythm section provides a strong cushion, with John Bunch's dancing hands providing some elegant twists and turns at the piano. Nothing here disappoints, but their bop-meets-R&B take on "Blues Up and Down" by Ammons and Stitt ranks as my clear favorite. It's filled with an exuberant spirit of one-upmanship until they blend together for the final shout chorus. In contrast, the Duke Ellington ballad "Warm Valley" enables them to share a Websterish blend. From start to finish, through all eight tracks, this blend of Heavy Juice is very, very good.
By Ken Franckling https://www.allaboutjazz.com/heavy-juice-scott-hamilton-concord-music-group-review-by-ken-franckling.php

Personnel: Scott Hamilton (tenor saxophone), Harry Allen (tenor saxophone), John Bunch (piano), Dennis Irwin (bass), Chuck Riggs (drums)

Heavy Juice

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Simone Kopmajer - With Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:18
Size: 144,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:15) 1. The Look of Love
(4:40) 2. How Wonderful You Are
(5:36) 3. Until It's Time for You to Go
(4:46) 4. I Can't Make You Love Me
(2:31) 5. Opposites Attract
(4:36) 6. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
(3:01) 7. Cold Cold Heart
(3:16) 8. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
(5:06) 9. For Once in My Life
(4:06) 10. Take It All In
(5:15) 11. Everything Happens to Me (feat. Sheila Jordan)
(4:52) 12. Tell It Like It Is
(4:38) 13. You Don´t Know Me (feat. John Di Martino)
(4:33) 14. Over the Rainbow

Simone Kopmajer’s new album “With Love“ was produced by John Di Martino, Reinhardt Winkler & herself.

The trio brought Simone’s vision of an intimate but rich sound to a point. Wonderful string arrangements played by Grammy Winning NY string quartet are surrounding her subtle vocals. “With Love” is a mix of old time classics, love songs and for the very first time two original compositions, definitely Kopmajers most romantic album in her incredible career on which she is proving again her different facets as a musician and vocalist.

Accompanied by Harry Allen, John Di Martino, Boris Kozlov, Reinhardt Winkler, Gottfried Gfrerer & Wesley Amorim , Simone Kopmajer turns her sensual vocals to songs like “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart“ (Bee Gees), “Cold Cold Heart“ (Hank Williams and the legendary “Over the rainbow“.

Another highlight on the album are the guest appearances of jazz legend Sheila Jordan and John Di Martino. With love is a must have for every fan and fan to be! http://www.simonekopmajer.com/bio

Personnel: Simone Kopmajer: Vocals; Harry Allen: Tenor Saxophone; John Di Martino: Piano; Boris Kozlov: Bass; Reinhardt Winkler: Drums; Wesley Amorim: Guitar; Gottfried Gfrerer: Guitar; Sheila Jordan: Vocals; Sara Caswell: First Violin; Tomoko Akaboshi :Second Violin; Benni von Gutzeit: Viola; Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf: Cello

With Love

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Harry Allen & Martin Sasse - Live At Bird's Eye

Styles: Bop, Swing
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:33
Size: 116,1 MB
Art: Front

( 5:19) 1. When October Goes
(10:11) 2. Swing, Swing, Swing
( 5:02) 3. Tea For You
( 7:08) 4. Telling A Little Story
( 6:38) 5. Blue Skies
( 4:46) 6. Step Right Up
( 5:20) 7. There's No Place For Me
( 6:05) 8. See You At The Fair

Now, the brilliant playing of the two can be followed and enjoyed on their first joint album "Live at Bird's Eye". Together with Markus Schieferdecker and Joost van Schalk as an exquisite rhythm section, they fill the space with compositions from their own pens that are as subtly as they are complexly interpreted, but also with a clever selection of the very finest standards. What unites the four is their deep affection for the melodies of the swing era as well as the mainstream jazz of the 1950s and 1960s. Together they immerse themselves in relaxed, yet highly intense moods, sometimes rhythmically furious, sometimes in pure balladic beauty.

It is anything but a matter of course to start an album right away with an atmospheric ballad: But here it happens, and Barry Manilow's classic "When October Goes" makes an impressive statement. Nancy Wilson, Carmen McRae, Rosemary Clooney, Kevin Mahogany or Inger Maria Gundersen each interpreted Johnny Mercer's lines in their own personal way, now Harry Allen finds his very own language on the saxophone, at first almost whispered, then more and more urgent and powerful, while Sasse on the piano evokes a lyrical fantasy world of rain-soaked city streets and autumn-colored rows of trees.

No less powerful in imagery and association, the cheerfully spotted Ben Webster classic "See You at the Fair" from 1964 and the rather rarely played "Step Right Up," with which Oliver Nelson, as composer, arranger and conductor, opened the Count Basie album "Afrique" in 1971, glow. A special place is given to "Blue Skies" by Irving Berlin: The standard from the 1920s, famous thanks to singers such as Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald and decades later Cassandra Wilson, rises here elegantly from broom accompanied cautiousness to cheerful, occasionally "weird" intensity. Involuntarily, one would like to sing along with the lyrics: "Blue Skies/Smiling at me/Nothing but blue skies/Do I See..."

Organically grown, the original compositions of Martin Sasse and Harry Allen fit into the album, shifting tempos, moods and atmospheres again and again in a new and sophisticated way, swinging and grooving, straight and cool, soulful and sensitive a captivating mixture of blues and swing-saturated floating matter! https://harryallen-martinsasse.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-bird-s-eye

Live At Bird's Eye

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Harry Allen, Dave Blenkhorn - Play the Music of Phil Morrison

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:01
Size: 106,1 MB
Art: Front

(8:00) 1. April and U
(6:31) 2. Summer Rain
(4:24) 3. Down in Rio
(4:37) 4. Mieke Jade
(7:00) 5. Without You
(3:02) 6. Fiddlin’
(7:03) 7. Mystique
(5:20) 8. Your Eyes

Gene Lees writes, “Stan Getz was once asked his idea of the perfect tenor saxophone soloist. His answer was, 'My technique, Al Cohn's ideas, and Zoot's time.' The fulfillment of that ideal may well be embodied in thirty-year-old Harry Allen.”

BMG recording artist Harry Allen has over twenty recordings to his name. Three of Harry's CDs have won Gold Disc Awards from Japan's Swing Journal Magazine, and his CD Tenors Anyone? won both the Gold Disc Award and the New Star Award. His recordings have made the top ten list for favorite new releases in Swing Journal Magazine's reader's poll and Jazz Journal International's critic's poll for 1997, and Eu Nao Quero Dancar (I Won't Dance), the third Gold Disc Award winner, was voted second for album of the year for 1998 by Swing Journal Magazine‚s reader‚s poll.

Harry has performed at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide, frequently touring the United States, Europe, and the Far East. He has performed with Rosemary Clooney, Ray Brown, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Flip Phillips, Scott Hamilton, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Gus Johnson, Jeff Hamilton, Terry Gibbs, Warren Vache, and has recorded with Tony Bennett, Johnny Mandel, Ray Brown, Tommy Flanagan, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Barron, Dave McKenna, Dori Caymmi, Larry Goldings, George Mraz, Jake Hanna, and Al Foster, among others.

Harry is featured on many of John Pizzarelli's recordings including the soundtrack and an on-screen cameo in the feature film The Out of Towners starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. He has also done a series of commercials for ESPN starring Robert Goulet.

Harry was born in Washington D.C. in 1966, and was raised in Los Angeles, CA and Burrillville, RI. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music in 1988 from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and currently resides in New York City. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/harry-allen

Play the Music of Phil Morrison

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Harry Allen - My Reverie by Special Request

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:15
Size: 122,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:52) 1. The Rose Tattoo
(4:18) 2. Love, Your Magic Spell is Everywhere
(5:26) 3. La Rosita
(4:35) 4. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
(4:52) 5. Carioca
(5:29) 6. My Reverie
(7:09) 7. I Surrender Dear
(5:12) 8. Close as Pages in a Book
(5:08) 9. Lilacs in the
(6:09) 10. St. James Infirmary

A swinging jazz saxophonist, Harry Allen is a highly regarded performer whose musical inspiration and interpretive approach come from the giants and innovators of mainstream saxophone, including Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Illinois Jacquet, and Lester Young. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Allen has generally eschewed the modern, avant-garde, and impressionist schools of jazz of John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and Ornette Coleman. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1966, Allen grew up in a musical family as the son of big-band drummer Maurice Allen. He started off with accordion lessons before there was a fortuitous switch to saxophone. Attending Rutgers University, Allen studied with Sahib Shihab, Bob Mintzer, and John Purcell.

While there, he got his first gig with the help of master bass player Major Holley, replacing Zoot Sims in a studio recording with John Bunch, George Masso, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Ruby Braff. Wholley also led Allen to Oliver Jackson, whom Allen subsequently accompanied on several tours to Europe. A 1986 session with Kenny Barron was Allen's first recording date. After that, Allen made his debut as a leader on 1988's How Long Has This Been Going On?

From there, he delivered a steady stream of recordings under his name for such labels as Progressive, Audiophile, and Nagel-Heyer. Later, his recordings were with major-label RCA-Victor, including 1999's Harry Allen Meets the John Pizzarelli Trio and 2000's Plays Ellington Songs. Three of his albums were awarded a Gold Disc by Swing Journal magazine, and his CD Tenors Anyone won both the Gold Disc and New Star awards. He has also recorded as a sideman with Bucky Pizzarelli (with whom he performs quite frequently), Warren Vache, and Jeff Hamilton.

Allen continues to record extensively and makes frequent appearances at jazz festivals and concerts. Highly prolific, he delivered a slew of well-regarded albums for BMG in the 2000s before moving back to boutique labels like Arbors, Sackville Records, and Challenge for albums like 2007's Cocktails for Two with Joe Temperley, 2009's New York State of Mind, and 2010's When Larry Met Harry with pianist Larry Goldings. He then paired with longtime associate Scott Hamilton for 2012's 'Round Midnight, and explored bossa nova rhythms on 2015's Something About Jobim. The following year he delivered The Candy Men: Harry Allen's All-Star New York Saxophone Band, featuring fellow saxophonists Grant Stewart, Eric Alexander, and Gary Smulyan.~Dave Nathanhttps://www.allmusic.com/artist/harry-allen-mn0000668457/biography

My Reverie by Special Request

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Reinhardt Winkler - Let's Face the Music

Styles: Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:07
Size: 112,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:21) 1. Don't Be That Way
(4:22) 2. Let's Face the Music and Dance
(1:58) 3. Let the Drums Speak I
(4:32) 4. Mr. Bojangles
(4:17) 5. Beatrice
(3:44) 6. Lucky Mojo
(5:19) 7. Emily
(1:42) 8. Let the Music Speak II
(4:35) 9. Idaho
(4:50) 10. Poinciana
(4:35) 11. Flamingo
(3:47) 12. Why Should I Care?

Famous standards played by a remarkable ensemble lead by drummer Reinhardt Winkler.

Reinhardt Winkler: I've known most of the songs of my new album for a long time. As a child, I got my first jazz records and all the songs were on it. I fell in love with this music, the sound, the instruments, the vibe, I just liked everything. Over the years I've always stayed tuned to these particular songs and some of them have become my absolute favourites. So I decided to record these songs with musicians I appreciate so much. https://www.propermusic.com/cr73526-let-s-face-the-music.html

Personnel: Reinhardt Winkler - Drums; Harry Allen - Tenor Saxophone; Simone Kopmajer - Vocals; John Di Martino - Piano; Boris Kozlov - Bass; Wolfgang Puschnig - Alto Saxophone

Let's Face the Music

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Ann Crumb, Harry Allen & His All Star Jazz Band - Live at Islamorada's Festival by the Bay 1998

Styles: Vocal, Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:57
Size: 159,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:32) 1. Blues in the Night
(4:04) 2. I'm Gonna Go Fishin
(4:41) 3. Lover Man
(4:10) 4. Come Rain or Come Shine
(7:46) 5. Lover Come Back (Instrumental)
(6:46) 6. Soon It's Gonna Rain
(6:36) 7. Ruby
(3:16) 8. I'm a Stranger Here Myself
(7:35) 9. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Instrumental)
(4:44) 10. Cry Me a River
(2:26) 11. Deedles' Blues
(3:51) 12. All Right, Ok, You Win (I'm in Love with You)
(8:24) 13. Sent for You Yesterday (Instrumental)

Elizabeth Ann Crumb (May 25, 1950 – October 31, 2019)"Ann Crumb Passes Away from Ovarian Cancer" broadwayworld.com, November 1, 2019 was an American actress and singer.

Career: The daughter of composer George Crumb and mother Elizabeth Crumb, pianist, and sister of composer David Crumb, she made her Broadway debut in 1987 as a member of the original cast of Les Misérables. Her other Broadway credits include Chess, Anna Karenina, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1993, and Aspects of Love, as Rose Vibert, a role she originated in the West End.

Crumb toured in the title role of Evita and appeared in numerous regional theatre productions staged by the Guthrie, Coconut Grove Playhouse, and Tennessee Repertory Theatre, among others. Her television credits include the daytime soaps As the World Turns, The Guiding Light, and Another World, and the primetime dramas Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She was in pre-production for a mini-series entitled The Road to Saint Lazarre in which she was to portray famed spy Mata Hari.

Crumb's recordings include A Broadway Diva Swings, a concert version of Nine with Jonathan Pryce and Elaine Paige, and Unto the Hills, in collaboration with her father. Her forthcoming jazz CD is entitled Goodbye Mr. Jones.

Personal life: Crumb was committed to the cause of animal rescue and adoption. In December, 2009, she co-ordinated a “doglift” of over 50 dogs, all slated for euthanasia at shelters in the Midwest to no-kill rescues in the Northeast where homes could be found for them. Crumb was born in Charleston, West Virginia. https://www.muziekweb.nl/en/Link/M00000266118/POPULAR/Ann-Crumb

Live at Islamorada's Festival by the Bay 1998

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John Di Martino, Janis Siegel - Cryin' in My Whiskey

Styles: Post Bop, Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:53
Size: 92,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:27) 1. Whenever You Come Around
(5:15) 2. Always on My Mind
(4:41) 3. I Fall to Pieces
(4:17) 4. Are You Alright
(3:43) 5. Where Do I Put His Memory
(4:25) 6. Hard Candy Christmas
(4:02) 7. He Stopped Loving Her Today
(4:49) 8. Break It to Me Gently
(4:11) 9. Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

Night is Alive is thrilled to release Cryin’ In My Whiskey, a cross-genre collaboration that brings together country western and jazz in the very best way possible. Cryin’ In My Whiskey has something for everyone, mingling the two genres in a way that still preserves the essence of the nine country tunes. This is one special release you won’t want to miss! https://www.jazziz.com/new-releases/cryin-in-my-whiskey/

Personnel: JANIS SIEGEL VOCALS; JOHN DI MARTINO PIANO, HAMMOND B3, KEYBOARDS; AARON HEICK SOPRANO & ALTO SAXOPHONES, CLARINET, FLUTE, ALTO FLUTE; HARRY ALLEN TENOR SAXOPHONE, JESSE LEWIS ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC GUITARS; LONNIE PLAXICO ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC BASS; ROSS PEDERSON DRUMS & PERCUSSION; AMY CERVINI BACKUP VOCALS

Cryin' in My Whiskey

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Nicki Parrott - If You Could Read My Mind

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:36
Size: 128,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:48) 1. I Can See Clearly Now
(4:18) 2. Jolene
(4:42) 3. If You Could Read My Mind
(4:36) 4. Vincent
(4:32) 5. Every Breath You Take
(4:56) 6. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
(4:31) 7. You Belong To Me
(4:04) 8. We've Only Just Begun
(4:54) 9. This Girl's In Love With You
(4:42) 10. Do That To Me One More Time
(4:16) 11. Lean On Me
(4:11) 12. The Water Is Wide

Nicki Parrott, an internationally acclaimed bassist, arrived in New York in May of 1994, the recipient of a grant from the Australia Council for the Arts allowing her travel to the US and study with her mentor, one of the world’s premiere double bassists, Rufus Reid. In the same year she was also nominated for the “Australian Young Achievers Award”.Today, Nicki Parrott is a world-class double bassist and an emerging singer/songwriter. In her work with artists from around the globe she has brought a signature sound to every bass part she has played. She performs regularly at the world’s best Jazz Festivals and can be seen Monday’s at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City with the legendary guitarist and inventor, Les Paul. Since June of 2000, this union has been an ideal showcase for her musical abilities, flair for improv, and gift for entertaining a crowd.Born in Newcastle, Australia, Nicki Parrott began her musical training on the piano at the age of four. She also took up the flute and continued to play both instruments throughout her school years. At the age of 15, Nicki switched her focus to the double bass, formed a band with her older sister Lisa (alto sax) and began composing instrumental pieces that they would eventually record for their premier CD release, The Awabakal Suite (2001).

After completing high school, Nicki moved to Sydney and attended the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, where she graduated with an Associates degree in Jazz Studies. When bassists such as the legendary Ray Brown (Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson) and John Clayton (Diana Krall, Whitney Houston) were playing in town, Nicki would find them, contact them and arrange lessons from them. She was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Pan Pacific Music Camp, and soon after, took first place in the 1992 Jazz Action Society's Annual Song Competition for her composition, Come and Get It.In 1990, Nicki began touring Australia with Russian musicians Daniel Kramer and Alexander Fischer playing sold out shows across the country. This was followed by successful tours with American trumpeters Bobby Shew and Chuck Findley. When she was off the road, Nicki was consistently playing bass with other world-renowned jazz musicians like New Zealand’s Mike Nock (piano), Australia's Dale Barlow (tenor sax), Paul Grabowsky (piano), Bernie McGann (alto sax) and the explosive Ten Part Invention.

In May of 2002, The Nicki and Lisa Parrott Quartet headlined the prestigious Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. The show was broadcast on NPR and was well received by the press. She was also the resident bassist with the Kitchen House Blend, a house band that premiered and performed new music from local New York composers. They would blend jazz, hip-hop, classical and rock in one evening...“It was a very creative experience”.Nicki expanded her musical repertoire and appeared on the Broadway stage in such shows as: Imaginary Friends, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Summer of '42, and Jekyll and Hyde. She is still active on Broadway today and regularly performs in the comedic musical, Avenue Q.

Since coming to the United States Nicki Parrott has performed and/or recorded with such notable musicians as Randy Brecker, Skitch Henderson, Jose Feliciano, Rebecca Paris, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Warren Vache Jr., Clark Terry, Michel Legrand, Billy Taylor, Dick Hyman, Patti Labelle & the New York Pops Orchestra, Annie Ross, the Florida Pops Orchestra, Terri Thornton, Holly Hoffman, DIVA, Marlena Shaw, Monica Mancini, Patrice Rushen, Harry Allen, Red Holloway, Kenny Davern, Mike Stern, Bernard Purdie, John Tropea, David Krakauer, Howard Alden, Randy Sandke, Greg Osby, Jack Wilkins, Ken Peplowski, Johnny Frigo, Joe Wilder, Houston Person, Wycliffe Gordon, Rachel Z and Johnny Varro.

Nicki has also performed at most of the world’s major jazz festivals. In the United States she’s appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival (2005), the Litchfield Jazz festival (2005), the Jazz in July concert series at the 92nd street Y (2003, 2004), the Detroit Jazz Festival (2005) and the Lionel Ha mpton Jazz Festival (2001). Outside the USA Nicki has appeared at the Cully Lavaux Festival (Switzerland - 1995), the Grimsby Jazz Festival (UK - 1996), Berlin Jazz Festival (Germany - 1998), the Ottawa Jazz Festival (2004), the Krakow Music Festival (Poland), JazzAscona (2005, 2006), Bern Jazz Festivals (Switzerland - 2005, 2006), Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival (UK - 2006) and of course, she has played at numerous music festivals across Australia. Nicki Parrott is committed to the continuing musical education women receive in order to further their careers and ultimately remain active as musicians past their teen years. In keeping with her sense of community, Nicki’s desire is to teach underprivileged kids to play instruments and learn to enjoy music. It is her belief t hat teaching music to children helps keep them interested in school and out of trouble. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/nickiparrott

Nicki Parrott loves old pop songs with good lyrics and good melodies and decided to feature them into this jazz setting.

Personnel: Nicki Parrott (vocal); Larry Fuller (piano); Lewis Nash (drums); Harry Allen (tenor sax); David Blenkhorn (acoustic and electric guitars)

If You Could Read My Mind

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Harry Allen, Mike Karn - Milo's Illinois

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:36
Size: 140,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:39) 1. Love Is Just Around the Corner
(6:20) 2. Just One of Those Things
(6:06) 3. A Time for Love
(7:52) 4. O Grande Amor
(4:50) 5. Tea for Two
(4:41) 6. Gypsy Sweetheart
(4:14) 7. Tenderly
(4:40) 8. Milo's Illinois
(5:08) 9. Just Pickin' out Ditties
(5:01) 10. The Song Is Ended
(6:00) 11. How Insensitive

The COVID pandemic has changed many things about daily life, creating something of a new, mutated "normal." This is no more apparent than in many of the "outside-the-box" methods that performance artists have used to subsist and ply their trade during a virtual lockdown. In particular, tenor saxophonist Harry Allen took the pandemic head on by cutting a European tour short in March 2020, returning to New York City. But rather than simply wait to see what happened, Allen jumped headlong into two ambitious projects. Taking advantage of some newly acquired recording equipment and computer software, the saxophonist recorded a "solo" recording, The Bloody Happy song (GAC Records, 2020). This recording featured Allen alone, appearing in a variety of computer-generated virtual formats, from solo horn to little-big band. The results were swinging and impressive

Extrapolating this method, Allen enlisted the guitarist Dave Blenkhorn , with whom he had been touring in Europe on the eve of the pandemic, to make a trans-Atlantic recording: Allen in New York City and Blenkhorn in Bordeaux, France (consider the romance of those locales!). This resulted in Under A Blanket Of Blue (GAC Records, 2020). Both projects successfully showed that creativity is adaptable as necessary, and , at its best, brings everything closer together, in spite of temporal circumstances. Allen's most recent projects highlight the good. They also restore that bit of mystery that is still able to make even the most jaded and cynical among listeners.

Take, for instance, Allen's third pandemic project, Milo's Illinois, recorded in Allen's home with double bassist Mike Karn. The title itself is filled with questions. Who is Milo and why in Illinois? Only part of this is revealed but that part is worth it. In numbers, Milo's Illinois is made up of nine standards and two originals. The subject matter is from across the map, from the hopeful "Love Is Just Around The Corner" to the resigned "Just One of Those Things," to the sepia-toned "Tea For Two." The songs are captured with an intensely relaxed spirit, one of making the best of a marginal situation with intimacy and empathy.

Allen's tone remains as sweet and confident as ever, adopting a piquant character when applied to Antonio Carlos Jobim ("O Grande Amor," "How Insensitive"). Karn meets Allen head on, anticipating the saxophonist and guiding him. Karn provides the introduction to several pieces, giving "Tea For Two" his most thoughtful consideration before kicking things off in a swinging fashion with Allen's entry. Mitchell Parish's rarely recorded "Gypsy Sweetheart" is provided a rounded treatment with saxophonist and bassist clicking along effortlessly. Irving Berlin's "The Song Is Ended" is submitted, upbeat and strolling in a steadfast 4/4, rolling into "How Insensitive," providing Karn is greatest, and most inventive, solo space.

"Milo's Illinois" is the Karn contribution to the recording, a circuitous bebop piece with an impressive head and compelling interior. Milo turns out to be a dog, a small one. And, "'Milo's Illinois" is a song about keeping a small dog warm, bringing this project to its peaceful and positive close with questions still unanswered. Praise the small and simple. They will never disappoint and it's been a long winter.~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/milos-illinois-harry-allen-gac-music

Personnel: Harry Allen(sax); Mike Karn(double bass)

Milo's Illinois

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Dave Blenkhorn, Harry Allen - Under a Blanket of Blue

Styles: Saxophone And Guitar Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:08
Size: 108,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:05) 1. There's a Small Hotel
(5:17) 2. We'll Be Together Again
(4:23) 3. Dindi
(4:53) 4. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
(4:01) 5. Under a Blanket of Blue
(6:31) 6. Street of Dreams
(4:22) 7. La Mer
(4:13) 8. Imagination
(3:49) 9. The Bloody Happy Song
(4:29) 10. Solitude

Conceived from the same stressors catalyzing The Bloody Happy Song, Under A Blanket Of Blue added an additional level of complexity and challenge to the new COVID conception-production paradigm. In this case, Allen had been touring Europe with France-based, Australian guitarist Dave Blenkhorn in March 2020, when Allen received a telephone call from his wife, summoning him home due to the COVID travel ban to be instituted two days hence. Allen went home with a conversation he had with the guitarist in mind regarding recording at home ringing in his ears. So, with both musicians secure in their respective homes in New York City and Bordeaux, France, they recorded a collection of nine standards and one original (Allen's "The Bloody Happy Song" from the previous review) over a two-month period, working on one or two songs per week.

The two artists took a queue from classical music period performance specialists, deciding to go old school instrument and recording-wise. Allen recorded performing on a 1938 Selmer Balanced Action tenor saxophone captured through a Royer R10 ribbon microphone, while Blenkhorn used a 1958 Gibson 175 model guitar. A Django Reinhardt enthusiast, Blenkhorn brought a 1920 "Hot Club" vintage sound to the performances while maintaining Joe Pass-inspired walking-bass figures interspersed among his tasteful chording. That guitar environment proved to be money for Allen, who played at the top of his form.. Novel conception and recording method apart, the musical duet is the most intimate performance setting. It requires that two individuals cooperate and coalesce artistically, creating something not heard before. Sure, all of the songs in this recital have been performed and recorded every which way, some many times, before. But these songs as presented by Harry Allen and Dave Blenkhorn re freshly minted That alone makes them special, unique. Casual and close, the two musicians bring music together from across an open.

The repertoire is tried and true, with the closing songs defining the collection: Victor Young's 1932 "Street of Dreams" receives a breezy introduction from Blenkhorn before assimilating a first timid Allen into its confines. The song gathers swing density ending on a well conceived coda. Charles Trenet's "La Mer" (Columbia, 1946) bounces with tuneful glee, with Allen gently coaxing the melody through the harmonic underpinning provided by Blenkhorn's guitar. Jimmy Van Heusen's "Imagination" rubs its baladic backside against Allen's original "The Bloody Happy Song" reprised here from the same-titled recording above. The two end with an introverted performance of Duke Ellington "Solitude," proving again that the Great American Songbook continue tp provide an endless source of inspiration.~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/harry-allen-tenor-saxophone-in-the-time-of-covid-harry-allen

Personnel: Harry Allen (ts), Dave Blenkhorn (g)

Under a Blanket of Blue

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