Search - Harry Allen :: Plays Ellington Songs

Harry Allen: Sax The Way It Should Be

R. LaRue | Crozet, VA United States | 11/04/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is a very short list of tenor players everybody likes: Stan Getz, Lester Young, Ben Webster--maybe Dexter Gordon--players who are so lyrical and so sweet, they are irresistable. The list just got a little longer when Harry Allen joined it.When I first heard him on the radio, I thought of all those previously mentioned luminaries, though I was pretty sure it wasn't any of them. But who plays sax like that anymore? All the young turks are hard boppers tring to out play Stitt or "pushing the envelope" to outdo Trane. Not Harry; he just sings. He can play fast, and seems to be more than happy to do so; but Like Getz before him, fast doesn't mean noisy or loud--just swinging with the same lyricism as those slow ballads. And what ballads! Coltrane said of Getz: "We'd all play like Stan...if we could." And I know Trane meant, "play with that beautiful tone and expression." No doubt there are a lot of players thinking the same thing about Allen. His slow numbers mezmerize with their fluid, honeyed grace, thier absolute fitness. He likes to stay near the melody--another style seldom herad these days--but even as he drifts off into new melodic patterns, you can still recognize the changes, the phrasings, and the turnarounds; yet he never sounds repetitive or boring.The rhythm section is firm, a very nice setting for his jewel like playing. If I have one gripe it's--not enough ballads.But I'm buying all his records."

Good Album, even with my reservations

"Big Band" John | NC United States | 10/21/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I admit my bias towards Harry. I think he's one of the best if not the best tenor sax player out there bar none. However, this album doesn't really do it for me. I love Ellington, and Harry is great, but somewhere, the two just don't meet perfectly for me on this album. Harry put's in a solid performance backed by a good band, but to me, it's not quite Harry's best work. I think perhaps my reason is that I am such a fan of Ellington's music as well, the style used in this album is more unique and off in it's own direction. It could be my pre-determined notion of how the songs should sound that may be distracting me. That's why I give this album such a high rating. Musically, the album is great. Just be prepared for a somewhat different interpretation of the music.Some of the songs are great as is. For example, I think he does a great job with "C Jam Blues" and "It Don't Mean A Thing".If you are new to Harry, I would probably suggest other of his albums above this, especially his album with the John Pizzarelli Trio. Still, it doesn't hurt to preview these track, If you enjoy the samples here, you definitely will love the album."