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Harry Allen Quartet playing at the Bistro Otello, Ascona, Ticino, Switzerland Superb, original, inventive, breathtaking, takes your breath away. These are just a few of the adjectives used to describe the incomparable talent of the New York-based saxophonist Harry Allen, who returns to Ascona after a year's absence, to delight the public with his Harry Allen Quartet, comprising a group of formidable musicians : Joe Cohn (guitar), Joel Forbes (bass) and Chuck Riggs (drums). Born in Washington DC, Allen grew up in California but has lived in the Big Apple for several years. Allen is unanimously considered to be one of the finest saxophonists in jazz today, boasting over 30 recordings in his own name and a plethora of prestigious collaborations. Superb interpreter of standards - an American critic defined him "the Frank Sinatra of the tenor sax" - Allen is an eclectic artist, able to move with agility between styles, from traditional jazz to bebop. Three of his recordings won the most important recognition of the Japanese jazz press, while with the CD 'Tenors Anyone?' Allen received the Gold Disc Award and the New Star Award. His quartet with guitarist Joe Cohn was named Best Jazz Combo by the American Jazz Journalist Association. In demand for concerts in the United States, Europe and Asia, Allen has in the course of his brilliant career played with all the best living players, among whom we remember Ray Brown, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Flip Phillips, Scott Hamilton, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Jeff Hamilton, Terry Gibbs, Warren Vaché, and recorded with American folk and pop stars such as Tony Bennett, Ray Brown, James Taylor and Sheryl Crow. www.jazzascona.com www.lightronixprod.com

jazz, ascona, lago, maggiore, ristauranti, ticino, bistrot,