In his heyday in the 1930s Henry Allen was a trumpeter of great significance. More than any other 'hot' jazz trumpeter before him he employed the use of long, flowing melodic lines. His sense of continuity had much in common with the style of Harry ?Sweets? Edison who employed the same technique a few years later with Count Basie. Henry Red Allen made his first recordings with Clarence Johnson while on tour with the struggling King Oliver Dixie Syncopators in 1927. Like many jazz players from Louisiana during this period; Henry Allen then spent time playing on riverboats traveling the Mississippi. He made several recordings under his own name in 1929 for Victor and then joined the Luis Russel Orchestra. Allen worked with the great tenor soloist Coleman Hawkins while in the Fletcher Henderson big band in 1933 and 1934 and many of his improvised solos were written in as part of arrangements by Henderson. In 1934 and 1935 Red Allen made a number of recordings which were issued ! under his own name on the Vocalion, Parlophone, and Banner labels. His solos on sides like Truckin' and Down South Camp Meeting are among his finest on record. Allen was also a member of a swinging studio all-star type band organized by songwriter, publisher and booking agent Irving Mills. He recorded with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band from 1934 to 1936 which waxed some fantastic sides on Columbia and its subsidiary Vocalion. Henry Red Allen was establishing himself as a premier soloist of the early swing ...
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