Harry Allen Trio - I Know That You Know (1992)

Here we have an early Harry Allen CD released on a fairly obscure label in 1992. Harry is right at home in this trio setting. The listener truly gets to hear the richness of his playing as the trio perform a number of jazz standards. In many ways the individual qualities of each of the players are clearly heard in an uncomplicated manner, one of the benefits of a cohesive small grouping. Allen is joined on his tenor saxophone by John Coliani on piano and Michael Moore on bass. Together they produced a well-rounded album that is just right for multiple appraisals, overall a very pleasant and easy listening outing, Enjoy!

MasterMix Music Ltd., CHECD 00104, 1992

Recorded 18^th January, 1992 in London, England

Musicians:

Harry Allen - Tenor Saxophone

John Colianni - Piano

Michael Moore - Acoustic Double Bass

Tracks:

01. Call Me Irresponsible (6:38)

02. Legs (6:52)

03. I Want To Laugh You Right Out Of My Life (3:30)

04. Baby Won't You Please Come Home (4:14)

05. It Was Just One Of Those Things (9:44)

06. I Get Along Without You Very Well (4:09)

07. Drifting (5:31)

08. I Know That You Know (4:49)

09. Souriya (4:21)

10. Desafinado (7:19)

11. Sleep (4:31)

12. Ther'll Never Be Another Spring (3:05)

Total Time: 65:44

Producer - James Campbell

Kenny Barron - 1+1+1 (1984) [vinyl]

Having both cut his teeth and come into his own with Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and Yusef Lateef, among others, pianist Kenny Barron began to carve out what has proven to be a lengthy and fruitful solo career by 1973. This fine duo outing, which has Ron Carter and Michael Moore trading off on bass, certainly shows Barron was in full control of his vigorous and tuneful style by the mid-'80s. Cut for the independent Black Hawk label before Barron would eventually find more exposure via such high-profile companies as Enja and Verve, 1 + 1 + 1 features a tasty program of numbers by Monk, Ellington, Coltrane, Dave Brubeck, and others. Of particular note are Barron and Carter's treatments of the Gershwin opener, "The Man I Love," and Brubeck's "In Your Own Sweet Way." Carter also contributes the lone original here, "United Blues," which features Moore handling the bass duties. Topped off with a fine solo exploration of "Round Midnight" (Barron has to be one of the best modern interpreters of Monk's work), 1 + 1 + 1 is certainly a must for fans of contemporary hard bop. ~ by Stephen Cook, AMG.

BlackHawk Records, BKH 50601, 1984

Recorded 23^rd & 24^th April, 1984 in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Personnel:

Kenny Barron - Piano (All), Solo (#B3)

Ron Carter - Bass (#A2,A3,B2,B4)

Michael Moore - Bass (#A1,A4,B1)

Tracks:

A1. The Man I Love {George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin} (5:13)

A2. United Blues {Ron Carter} (3:37)

A3. Prelude To A Kiss {Duke Ellington, Irving Gordon, Irving Mills} (5:13)

A4. C Jam Blues {Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington} (4:22)

B1. In Your Own Sweet Way {Dave Brubeck} (6:02)

B2. Giant Steps {John Coltrane} (3:06)

B3. 'Round Midnight {Bernie Hanighen, Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams} (6:29)

B4. Beautiful Love {Victor Young} (4:00)

Credits:

Executive Producer - Don H. Nelson, Karen J. Nelson

Producer, Art Direction - Joanne Klein

Recording Engineer - Rudy van Gelder

Design - Neon De Fall Graphics

Photography [Front] - J.R. Jones

Photography [Back] - Scott Sternbach

Harry Allen - Here's To Zoot (2001)

Impressive And Delightful

Here's another fine Harry Allen CD. There are some interesting surprises here. Harry plays the verse to "I Cover The Waterfront" slowly, and where you expect him to double the tempo, he doesn't, but keeps it slow. It makes for a different and pleasing approach. He does the same think on "Someone To Watch Over Me", though this one might be taken just a tad too slowly. "I Cried For You" is taken way up-tempo and features excellent brush work by Hanna. The most ambitious track is "I'll Take Romance", done in waltz time, medium-slow at first; then comes an unaccompanied piano solo by McKenna in 4/4, followed by Harry back in 3/4 time and with the tempo doubled. It's an impressive performance. "I Remember You" is played as a Bossa Nova, and "The Way You Look Tonight" has a crisp, jaunty flavor to it. This is a most attractive CD that will not fail to delight Harry Allen fans. ~ Bomojaz, Amazon.com.

Deserves To Be Heard.........

Harry Allen is in supurb form in this wonderful 1997 salute to his "hero", Zoot Sims. Fact is, Harry's tenor is sounding more and more like Stan Getz. The group is tight (McKenna, Moore and Hanna all played with Zoot Sims and they excel here), and the solos and interplay (and the recording quality) are excellent. Because it has only been issued in Japan, not too many people know about it and it is difficult to find. That's a shame, because it is a wonderful listen. Grab it if you get the chance. ~ Stephen W. Mckenna, Amazon.com.

BMG Records, BVCJ-648, 2001

Recorded 17^th & 18^th June, 1997 At Nola Studios, New York, NY

Personnel:

Harry Allen - Tenor Saxophone

Dave McKenna - Piano

Michael Moore - Bass

Jake Hanna - Drums

Tracks:

01. I Cover The Waterfront {Johnny Green, Edward Heyman} (5:07) 

02. Stars Fell On Alabama {Mitchell Parish, Frank Perkins} (4:27)

03. Spring Is Here {Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers} (4:48)

04. I Cried For You {Gus Arnheim, Arthur Freed, Abe Lyman} (4:21)

05. Grooveyard {Carl Perkins} (6:40)

06. I Remember You {Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger} (6:05)

07. Someone To Watch Over Me {George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin} (5:28)

08. 9:20 Special {William Engvick, Earle Warren} (5:14)

09. The Way You Look Tonight {Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern} (4:36)

10. All My Tomorrows {Sammy Cahn, James Van Heusen} (4:03)

11. I'll Take Romance {Oscar Hammerstein II, Ben Oakland} (5:41)

Credits:

Producer - Ikuyoshi Hirakawa

Engineer - Jim Czak

Assistant Engineer - Bill Moss

Mastering Engineer - Hiromichi Takiguchi