Red Allen Chapters 9 - The Jazz Archive

Another liaison was set up between Allen and drummer
Lennie Hastings, who, with the others, showed that English
rhythm sections are not nearly as bad as –some Englishmen
like to think.
The second night brought Allen into the challenging company
of the Fairweather-Brown All-Stars, an unorthodox group
fronted by clarinetist Sandy,Brown and featuring trumpeter Al
Fairweather .and tenorist Danny Moss.
Brown plays in an angular and original way, somewhat like
Pee Wee Russell in a Viking hat. On this night it was
everybody paddle his own longboat, for Brown's men made no
-concessions to the additional horn.-
Again, because of Allen's subtlety, a buoyant band sound and
beautifully instinctive backings to soloists would have given the
casual listener the impression that the personnel had been
together for 20 years. The Ben Webster-like tenor of Moss was
particularly potent in solo, but, after Allen, the honors went to
Brown, an original and brilliant creator.
As on the two previous evenings, such Allen standards as
Biffly Blues, Patrol Wagon Blues, and House in Harlem for
Sale were given extended workouts when Allen played the third
night with the Turner band. Here the pianoless rhythm section,
pinned by the sensitive drumming of Johnny Armitage.
provided a beautiful montage for free-blown jazz.
Turner, an altoist of world class, matched Allen's solos with
his own, and the two inspired each other to jazz
consummations that overshadowed everything-else that had
happened. Trombonist Pete Strange, very much in Allen's
idiom, also played above himself. This was the finest session
of the .three.
Throughout his stay, Allen played with remarkable
consistency and tastefulness. His eccentric style, which was
ahead of its time 30 years ago, is still gilded with modernity,
and it is obvious that he belongs, not in the shade of Louis
Armstrong, but out front with Roy Eldridge and Buck
Clayton.
Some of his extraordinary effects were on display - the heavyvibrato
growl, the muted effects without a mute, and the
intricate precision of his rapid-fire fingering.
Without pandering to his audiences, Allen involved them in
his vocals and created the highly volatile atmospheres that
built up at each session. It can be said that he has done more
constructive work for British jazz in his short stay than several
16-man groups have done during more intensive tours.
The Sports Guild is working on the idea of bringing more
musicians over. As far as this reviewer is concerned, they can
keep bringing Red Allen. He's one of the timeless ones.
THE VERDICT: GREAT by E. LAMBERT – MSG-Journal, Focus June-64 No.4.p7 (cont.series from p 114)
True appreciation of Henry 'Red' Allen's April visit to the M.S.G. centre was felt by all who came to see this inspiring
personality. Here are appreciations from two men who really know what they're talking about - the first from Eddie Lambert,
'Jazz Journal' and 'Jazz Monthly,' correspondent, the second from Steve Voce, 'Jazz Journal' and 'Down Beat.'
In the entire history of jazz in this country it is difficult to find a parallel to the achievement of the Sports Guild in
bringing a jazz musician of Henry Allen's calibre to England for a series of club sessions.
We are so used to hearing the great
musicians of jazz on record or in the
concert hall that it is easy to overlook the
fact that neither the studio nor the
concert stage is the natural habitat of the
music. While we can hear many fine
British groups in club conditions, for us
the music of the great figures of jazz
seems far removed from such surroundings.
Yet, in fact, the reverse is true, as
can be seen from the best commentators
on the American jazz scene, such as
Stanley Dance and Dan Morgenstern
who report frequently on jazz sessions of
the highest quality heard in clubs. The
achievement of the Guild is that they
brought one of the great musicians of
jazz to Manchester to take part in
sessions of a quality which would have
brought forth the plaudits of Dance and
Morgenstern had they occurred in New
York City. FINEST SESSION
The finest of the Henry Allen sessions I
have attended at the time of writing was
that with Bruce Turner's band, an
evening of memorable jazz by any
standard. To an even greater extent than
on the other evenings Henry Allen
demonstrated his continuing greatness as
a jazz musician. These are sad days for
the jazz veteran, with so many prominent
writers seeing to consider that
one new trumpeter is worth ten old ones
and who regard the ability to play runs of
harmonic complexity more praise-worthy
than the ability to make music of
character and distinction. 'But make no
mistake about Red Allen's stature - his
music has a mastery, a personality and a
richness of expression which is only
equalled by a handful of jazz trumpeters.
On the night with Bruce, he played with
an amazing variety of tone ranging from a
mere whisper to a ringing, proud brass
sound most refreshing in these days of
trumpeters trying to kid us that they are
operating on French horn. But to attempt
to write a critique of Henry's performances
would be to step beyond the scope of
this article. Let us just repeat again that
this was jazz trumpet playing of superb
quality, equal at least to the very greatest
of Henry's recordings.
FINE SURROUNDINGS
The Guild deserves praise also for the
surroundings in which they presented
Henry Allen. It is doubtful if there is a
finer jazz room in the country than the
M.S.G. cellar - certainly our London
visitors were very envious. The room
can get uncomfortable when crowded
and perhaps the stage could be extended
with advantage but the only real weak-
spot is the piano, which should be
replaced at once.
One could not have elected four better
bands than those of Alex Welsh, Sandy
Brown, Bruce Turner and Humphrey
Lyttleton to play with Red and in the
event only Lyttleton's group was a
disappointment. The band's modernised
Basie style was unsuitable for a man of
greatly differing manner and methods, but
even so it was regrettable that some of
Humph's musicians could not be
bothered to even attempt to adapt their
music to Allen's requirements.
By contrast the Brown and Welsh bands
fitted Henry's style naturally, but best of
all was the Turner band. So impressed and
inspired was Red by their playing that
Pete Strange (tb) Roy Crane (t) Red Allen (t) Bruce Turner (as) (court. Jenks Jenkins)