Search - Harry Allen :: Jazz for the Soul

A breakthrough ballads albumn

Raymond E. Mcmahon | nyc | 01/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If your a Harry Allen fan you,ll love this cd,if not this will make you a fan of this up and coming tenor player with the Ben Webster,Stan Getz sound.Also a top flight back up group headed by Joe Cohn and the piano great, John Bunch.You can tell by the song list it,s all Ballads."

Another great CD from The Allen/Cohn inc.

Marco Vienna | Rimini, Italy | 11/03/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I begin this review stating that the Harry Allen/Joe Cohn quartet is my n°1 favourite jazz combo. Period. Allen is one of the best mainstream sax player I ever heard: a wonderful tone, a mix between the sensual sweetness of Stan Getz and the big macho tone of Ben Webster, a total technique, an astounding sense of phrasing and melodic solo building. The same can be said for Joe Cohn (although he plays very sparingly in this record, not really on the spotlight). Furthermore, the quartet, thanks to nearly ten years of intense playing together, shows an incredible thigh interplay. I don't give five stars to this records only because in some moments it seems to me a bit something like a "jazz exercise", like if they would show the listener how a famous standard should be played. I'm not mad about the pianist, John Bunch, he plays with a quite predictable style, I would have been much more happy without him an with just more guitar... and the "all ballads" format makes the listening a bit too much relaxing after a while. However, this CD is wonderfully played, full of nice ideas and solos, highly advisable to listeners who like classic jazz, evergreen ballads and that mellow sexy jazz style good to listen to in front of your fireplace with a glass of good Cabernet, better if in good company... Personally I would advise other CDs to discover this fantastic quartet. And if you live in NY don't miss the chance to see them live, they are really unbelievable!"

Great Album

Antonio C. Nolan | Houston,TX, USA | 09/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Harry Allen plays a lilting, smooth tenor sax ballad. Brings back memories of the late great Ben Webster. Buy this album!"