The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to any number of creative improvisations, each manifesting from the necessity of having to “quarantine in place.” Tenor saxophonist Harry Allen met the pandemic head-on by cutting a European tour short in March 2020, and returning to New York City. By way of avoiding cabin fever early in the lockdown, Allen hunkered in his living room with some new recording equipment and computer software, creating a virtual jazz recital featuring several different formats from solo saxophone to big band.
Allen had previously been planning a solo saxophone recording to be produced at his home before the pandemic kicked in and had already begun assembling the necessary equipment. The pandemic pushed the project to fruition, recording, The Bloody Happy Song (GAC Records, 2020). As such, Allen was in charge of the whole deal: performing, arranging, producing, engineering, and mastering the final product.
Extrapolating this method, Allen enlisted the Australian guitarist Dave Blenkhorn with whom he had been touring in Europe on the eve of the pandemic, to make a trans-Atlantic recording: Allen in New York City and Blenkhorn in Bordeaux, France. This resulted in Under A Blanket Of Blue (GAC Records, 2020).
A swinging tenor saxophonist, Harry Allen is a highly-regarded performer whose musical inspiration and interpretive approach came from the giants and innovato
