★★★★★
, the American master of melodic, swinging tenor saxophone, and , a Swedish pianist of infinite subtlety, make a good partnership. They think alike and clearly enjoy each other's playing as they immerse themselves in these nine songs by . Some of them, like the theme from , are not obvious jazz material, but Mandel, like his contemporary Henry Mancini, has always been a jazzman at heart and it shows. Two numbers especially, Emily and The Shining Sea, evoke really inspired performances...
- www.theguardian.com
2015-01-25
★★★★★
New York City has been the setting of numerous television series and movies. It has also inspired many songs. Tenor saxophonist Harry Allen captures some of that essence with New York State of Mind, named for pop singer Billy Joel's composition. Allen, 43, was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in both Los Angeles, California, and Burriville, Rhode Island. He has been a sideman to John Pizzarelli and performed at festivals and clubs worldwide...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2012-04-23
★★★★★
Jazz at the extremities places special demands on the listener's imagination. For jazz on the avant-garde left, an open mind is required to accept new notions of beauty. For jazz on the conservative right, curiosity is necessary to reach notions of beauty encrusted by time. Harry Allen was born in 1966 but the music that sounds right to him comes from 30 or 40 years earlier. The opening tune here is "Riverboat Shuffle." Hoagy Carmichael wrote it in 1924...
- jazztimes.com
2012-03-19
★★★★★
Tenor saxophonist Harry Allen is a keeper of the flame ignited by the likes of Zoot Sims and Al Cohn. Whilst his music's nowhere near any cutting edge, he falls back upon the staples of the swing thru bop vocabulary like a man to the manner born and, over the course of this river-related program, demonstrates just how much the music means to him. The persuasiveness of his playing stems in part from his authority. To hear him working his way through "Down by the River" is to know this...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2012-01-09
★★★★★
Buy it from Buy the CDDownload as MP3Harry AllenRhythm on the RiverChallenge2011 Harry Allen seems to have struck up the perfect partnership with this label: they dream up a theme together and have fun assembling a collection of tunes to fit it. As a result we get one of the finest swing tenor saxophonists alive playing material that is fresh to both him and us...
- www.guardian.co.uk
2011-09-28
★★★★★
New York State of Mind, the second release on Challenge Records by tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, is a collection of well-known and rather-less-obvious songs all connected by a common theme: the Big Apple. As with his previous release Hits by Brits, Allen uses the excellent rhythm section of pianist Rossano Sportiello, bassist Joel Forbes and drummer Chuck Riggs, and they are joined on six tracks by the wonderful trombone of John Allred, a star in his own right...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2010-08-22
★★★★★
Harry Allen Hits By Brits Challenge 2007 Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet Guys and Dolls Arbors 2007 When it comes to giving standards a distinctly refreshed Swing Era spin, mainstream tenor sax ace Harry Allen is a nonpareil gem repolisher. On Hits by Brits he and a quartet salute songs popularized by great Brit big bands...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2010-08-20
★★★★★
Turned on to jazz as a kid by his father, Harry Allen set his sights on becoming a professional. Along the way, he took a different path from the many Coltrane disciples, and that has made all the difference. You can find out more about Harry at his website. Listen
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2010-08-20
★★★★★
Tenor saxophonist Harry Allen was born in Washington, D.C. in 1966, but he grew up in California and Rhode Island. His father was a drummer who played jazz records for Allen before kindergarten, and that early exposure set the course for his professional life. Unlike many saxophonists of his generation, Allen chose not to emulate John Coltrane's sound, choosing a mellower path. The result? Decades of touring the world and recording albums...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2010-08-20
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