Report To The Community 2021

man of the
hour
G. Thomas Allen becomes the
first male singer
to take top honors at the Sarah Vaughan
International Jazz Vocal Competition
The 2021 competition attracted
160 hopefuls from more than
25 countries around the globe
Opera singer turned jazz
vocalist G. Thomas Allen
takes ownership of NJPAC’s
Victoria Theater during his
award-winning performance.
The crowd at the 10th annual
Sarah Vaughan International
Jazz Vocal Competition —
a full house packing NJPAC’s
Victoria Theater — was already
bubbling with anticipation as
the show began, delighted to
be watching the performance
on the Lizzie & Jonathan
Tisch Stage after the previous
year’s virtual competition.
But when G. Thomas Allen,
one of only a handful of male
finalists since the competition
was opened to all genders
in 2017, took the stage
and launched into “Good
Morning Heartache” with
his crystalline falsetto, the
audience erupted into cheers
and applause, as they would
each time he took the stage.
“My gut was they would
either love my rendition or
hate it, because it is a unique
approach,” Allen told DownBeat
magazine after the show.
It was an astute insight.
The audience clearly loved
his sound, and so did the
judges: Allen took first place
in the contest, the first male
singer ever to do so.
As the judges contemplated
their decision, Christian
McBride and jazz great
Dianne Reeves performed a
short set, leavening beloved
tunes like “Lullaby of Birdland”
by improvising together.
The competition, named for
the most famous jazz singer
to come out of Newark,
is always a highlight of the
TD James Moody Jazz Festival,
and has become a launching
pad for jazz stars like Cyrille
Aimée and Jazzmeia Horn.
A former opera singer turned
jazz vocalist, Allen boasts a
four-octave vocal range and
can sing notes that few male
singers can reach. He put that
virtuosity on display at the
competition, adding trills and
arpeggios to his performance,
while the audience clapped
and shouted their approval.
He also sang Cole Porter’s
“Just One of Those Things” —
njpac.org
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