Harry Allen
Tenor saxophonist HARRY ALLEN's I WON'T DANCE (EU NÃO QUERO DANÇAR), a definitive collection of Brazilian jazz performances including inspired versions of the bossa nova classics "Corcovado," "Desafinado" and "Doralice," is set for July 13th release by RCA Victor Jazz. The recording showcases the sublime sense of swing and warm, lyrical solos that have endeared the 33-year-old Allen to mainstream jazz fans from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo to Berlin. The saxophonist is joined on the session by the celebrated Brazilian guitarist and vocalist Dori Caymmi, the sensual singer Maucha Adnet and by pianist Larry Goldings, electric guitarist Joe Cohn, bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer/percussionist Dudka Da Fonseca. I Won't Dance follows the critically acclaimed January 1999 RCA Victor Jazz release Harry Allen Meets The John Pizzarelli Trio, the saxophonist's 16th CD and first RCA Victor title to be released in the U.S.
Allen's breathy, feathery tone has inspired comparisons to the classic sound of Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and other traditional tenor masters of the 1940s. While Allen's solo on the title track "I Won't Dance," a timeless standard by Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern, recalls that of the great Zoot Sims, his playing on most of the CD evokes the memory of Stan Getz who was so instrumental in introducing the bossa nova sound to the U.S. Allen is supremely comfortable with this romantic Brazilian style, whether adding a samba flavor to an "Air" by J.S. Bach or to his original composition "Time Standing Still," or paying tribute to the incomparable Antonio Carlos Jobim on his classic songs "Once I Loved" and "Meditation."
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1966, Allen was raised in Los Angeles and Rhode Island and received a B.A. in music from Rutgers University in New Jersey. He has performed at jazz festivals and clubs throughout the world and frequently tours the U.S., Europe and the Far East. In addition to his frequent work with Pizzarelli, Allen has performed with Rosemary Clooney, Flip Phillips, Scott Hamilton, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Kenny Burrell and Warren Vache, and recorded with Johnny Mandel, Kenny Barron, Dave McKenna, George Mraz and Al Foster, among others. Immensely popular in Japan, Allen has received three Gold Disc Awards from Swing Journal and his recordings regularly appear on that magazine's Top-10 list of favorite new releases. The saxophonist appears on the soundtrack to and also had an on-screen cameo appearance in the recent remake of the film The Out Of Towners starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn.