a swing jazz stuffed but no real surprise ...

Harry Allen is known to some jazz fans to be an outstanding stylist. His trick, this is a cool jazz playing, quiet good, as implied also the title of his latest album appeared under the label Stunt (February 2015). In "Quietly There", the tenor saxophonist, somewhat in the tradition of Bob Mintzer, Jerry Bergonzi and others nostalgic for the big time, suggests a muffled music of a beautiful scarf that will prevent us to catch a cold. It especially comes of a tribute to the compositions of Johnny Mandel (how not remember M * A * S * H ​​* for example, an arch-known play and repeated here, as in the You Must Believe in Spring Bill Evans). Speaking of Bill Evans, saxophonist takes dailleurs a room that the master was also the habit of playing ("Emily"). Allen has been a quartet any acoustic quality, a little too smooth, too clean for my taste, but that will delight those who want to have a good time, and for whom jazz, this is above all this: the tranquility , a serene atmosphere. The disc is perfect for who wants to rediscover what made the success of Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Stan Getz and jen pass. This is a cool jazz with a swing innervated in each piece. Between walks and more péchus pieces entire house can homogeneous course. The Swedish pianist Lundgren dune infinite subtlety, nen is never too much, and out of a playful jazz to which he had accustomed us under the Act label. Bassist and drummer Hans Backenroth Kristian Leth complete the quartet. The rest of the swing and bop repertoire infused the first hour without much risk.