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Harry Allen - Sublime Sound

12K views 61 replies 22 participants last post by  Di 
#1 ·
Harry Allen was playing a duo gig with Italian pianist, Rossano Sportiello at Smalls last week. I listened to the gig on the smalls website and Harry Allen sounded so great. IMO he has one of the most beautiful tenor sounds out there today. Fortunately Michael Steinman of Jazz Lives blog was there to capture it and has posted some of the performances on youtube.

Check out that sound he makes on his balanced action!!!!

SOME OTHER SPRING


JUST YOU, JUST ME


BLUES


BUT BEAUTIFUL
 
#10 ·
Not at all! I just wanted to be sure it wasn't a backhanded compliment.

It's a damn shame, is all, that Harry gets typed as a niche player when he has such deep influences, while tenorists who have no sound and do nothing but sperg-out on the changes get acclaimed as righteously creative artists.
 
#55 ·
Harry is one of the only bebop/swing tenormen with a career these days. He's quite lucky. Naturally he deserves it but there are a pile of cats with his ability and artistic prowess that really get overlooked and/or typecast. Dan Block, Chris Byars, Jerry Weldon, Bill Easley and so on. Too bad there isn't room for all of us who just want to swing, play pretty and entertain jazz fans.
 
#11 ·
Did you by chance some of you miss my use of the term "magic" in the comment that I made? I really don't see how that could be interpreted as negative criticism of H Allen's playing.
 
#18 ·
Every time I listen to him, the more I enjoy it. Never really checked him out much until about 4 yrs. ago and he's truly like a walking encyclopedia of jazz tenor. From a playing standpoint, he gets such a huge sound with what looks like relatively little "work", which is quite impressive. I know he blows on a Link, but does anyone know what exactly? Just curious....

John
 
#21 ·
I know he blows on a Link, but does anyone know what exactly? Just curious....

John
He plays master links but apparently refaced his mouthpiece himself after he managed to have a look at the mouthpiece Ben Webster used to play on. Apparently the way Ben Webster's mouthpiece had been opened up was very unusual and Harry asked various mouthpiece refacers to do the same thing for him but none would so he did it himself.
 
#20 ·
wow, what a breath of fresh air. thanks for posting.
 
#24 ·
Ben played on a Master Link (30's), Tone Master (40's) and a Four**** model from somewhere in the 50's onwards. I always found his Four**** the most brightest, probably because it was refaced to a bigger tip. I think I've read somewhere in a biography that he played around an 8* tip with medium to hard reeds (3 to 3,5, see below links).

I know a Dutch player who played on Ben's sax during the last concert he gave back in 1973. Check these links with text and pictures about that concert:
- Dutch (text and pictures): http://www.bobrigter.com/ned17ben.htm
- Enlgish (text only): http://www.bobrigter.com/eng4ben.htm
 
#23 ·
Harry Allen is a fantastic player in that style and I like what he is doing, but... there is also something that annoys me in his playing.

I've seen him a few times live and have listened to a lot of his clips and don't find his sound that big. Especially in the higher register he sounds a bit thin and bright IMO (just like Stan Getz). I guess that can be linked to the fact that he probably plays refaced Master Links. The original small tip pieces can sound very dark (check Lester Young and Herschel Evans in the 30's Basie band, or old Ben Webster stuff), but normally don't give much volume (unless played with a very hard reed and overblowing). Refaced Master Links normally get a higher baffle (or a small roll over baffle), which makes them louder but also brighter when pushed. I guess that's what happens to the sound of Harry. When you compare his sound to that of Scott Hamilton (they often played together) you can hear the difference. Scott plays bigger tips Florida Links and has a much fuller sound in the higher register.

I know, I know, who am I to say such things about a great player as Harry Allen! I will never reach his level in ten life times, but I've listened to a lot of old school tenor players (still do) and this is just my observation. I also own a refaced Master Link (from 4 to 6, probably done in the 40's) with a small roll over baffle and know how difficult it is to get that real dark but strong Master Link sound that the tenor masters of the past could get out of them.

Still, as mentioned before, I see Harry as a present tenor master and am very glad that players are still working succesfully in this old school tenor style. Thanks for those clips Liam :).
 
#28 ·
The most relevant and interesting aspect of this thread, for me, is really that everyone is making (legitimate) comparisons with older tenor players and no one is saying "Harry Allen sounds like ... Harry Allen".
 
#31 ·
Everyone who is aware of the great tenor tradition is derivative to a certain degree or another. It depends where you are going and what you aspire to.

Harry Allen is an amalgam in my mind of all the greats that have been mentioned, which by itself is quite an accomplishment. Like Gene Quill responded to a patron who told him with a smirk that he sounded exactly like Bird “here’s my horn man, lets see you sound exactly like Bird”.

I went to high school with the late great Bob Berg. When he was 17/18 he sounded exactly like 1958-59 Coltrane. You could close your eyes and it would be really hard to tell the difference. To me, over time that massive influence waned and he sounded like Bob Berg.

While of course Harry Allen sounds like Harry Allen, I don’t think he is on the same stylistic arc toward his own thing as much as Berg was for instance.
Still a BAMF though.
 
#33 ·
Harry Allen is an amalgam in my mind of all the greats that have been mentioned, which by itself is quite an accomplishment. Like Gene Quill responded to a patron who told him with a smirk that he sounded exactly like Bird "here's my horn man, lets see you sound exactly like Bird".
I agree that it's a great accomplishment. But I don't think that one needs to play or sound like Bird (or any other great) in order to be allowed to make a comment on originality and voice in music.
 
#36 ·
In my father's house there are many mansions!
 
#32 ·
Something to consider about Harry is that his sound might have gotten him noticed in the early days, but his technique got him respected. Once he'd passed that high technical bar of today's players, he could choose to embrace a style and sound people didn't associate with technique.

At the same time, if he strikes you as a "tribute" player to Zoot, Ben, Hawk, Getz and/or Scott, that may be an inevitable consequence of being schooled enough to cut it today. A good scholar studies his inspirations systematically, in fine detail, and obsessively enough that they become part of his imagination.

(Disclosure: I am an Allen-Hamilton type tenor player myself, but I was never technical enough or obsessive enough to pick up more than sound, shape and feel.)
 
#43 ·
Yes, it can be but I get a sense that many of the guys out there are just following their passion and vision. If it was all about making a living they would all be trying to play Kenny G type music. I see these amazing players playing in clubs with 10 people in them and playing their hearts out. I think the bread would be nice but most of these guys are just following their passion and hoping the bread follows.
 
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