Mike Allen Quartet

Mike Allen (MA, New York University, 1996) is a saxophonist, pianist, composer, and bandleader whose body of work includes thousands of performances throughout Canada, the US, and Europe over the past 30+ years. A Kingston, Ontario native profiled in Mark Miller's "Miller Companion To Jazz In Canada," Mike has a Master's degree in Jazz from New York University and was featured in a Globe and Mail article that listed him as one of a half-dozen "Interesting Canadians To Watch." Since founding his record label ALMUS JAZZ in 1990, Allen has produced and released 18 albums as a leader and recorded on another 25 as a sideman, including Michael Buble's Grammy Award-winning "Crazy Love." Over his 20-year career, he has worked with many well-known jazz artists including trombonist Julian Priester, drummer Donald Bailey, trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, saxophonist Gary Bartz, pianist Don Friedman, and multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson. Mike is a longtime member of Montreal-based guitar legend Sonny Greenwich's group, with whom he recorded two CDs. In 2019, he released "Just Like Magic," recorded at the iconic Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, joined by the incomparable rhythm section duo of Peter Washington on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. Allen's "Dialectic" (2003) won Outstanding Jazz Recording at the Western Canadian Music Awards, and his 2006 album "Love One Another" was named Canadian jazz album of the year by the Ottawa Citizen. The Mike Allen Quartet, with pianist Miles Black, bassist Adam Thomas, and drummer Julian MacDonough, has been one of his primary working groups, known for their regular performances throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Website