Harry Allen's debut as a leader found the 21-year-old tenor saxophonist already sounding fairly original in the mainstream swing idiom. This CD matches
Allen with pianist
Keith Ingham (with whom he had never worked previously, but would soon become a frequent collaborator), bassist
Major Holley, and drummer
Oliver Jackson. Although influenced a bit by his early idol
Scott Hamilton,
Allen already had a rapidly emerging musical personality of his own. In addition to some swing standards (most notably "I Would Do Anything for You" and "Blues My Naught Sweetie Gives to Me"),
Allen also performs such obscurities as
Johnny Hodges' "Walkin' the Frog," "Moments Like This" and
Nat Cole's "Beautiful Moons Ago." ~ Scott Yanow