Hey Look Me Over
One generation removed from the swing revivalism of fellow tenor saxophonist of note Scott Hamilton, Harry Allen has developed into a consistently interesting, self-assured stylist with the ability to draw seamlessly from different eras.Hey, Look Me Overis about as good as contemporary swing gets, in terms of the the liveliness and intelligence of the soloing, the bandsmanship shared by Allen, his longtime guitarist Joe Cohn, bassist Joel Forbes and drummer Chuck Riggs, and the freshness of the material. Much is being made of Allen's increased attention to Stan Getz (who in the early '50s recorded the album's opening track,  "With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair"), but as with his debt to other tenor icons including Coleman Hawkins and Illinois Jacquet, Allen wears Getz's influence lightly. He injects some of his furry melodicism into his playing and emulates him on a bossa (as who wouldn't?), but maintains his own sturdy sound, never approaching the emotion Getz evoked on ballads but more than holding his own. A lean player with a forcefully contained melodic approach, Cohn is a terrific foil for Allen. On their unison parts, he rides the turns as if in a sidecar. The album features three tunes by his late father, Al Cohn, two by Sammy Cahn and, in the title tune, an old favorite from a forgotten musical, "Wildcat," on which Allen charms with gruff legato effects.--Lloyd Sachs