Ed Allen (Edward Clifton) 1897

Trombettista statunitense (Nashville, Tennessee, 15.12.1897 – New York, 28.1.74). A sei anni si stabilisce a St Louis con la famiglia. Nel 1907 studia pianoforte, poi si dedica alla cornetta e, ancora adolescente, suona in una banda militare.

Prima camionista, soltanto nel 1916 diventa musicista professionista. Suona a St Louis in una stazione di servizio, a Seattle con il pianista Ralph Stevenson, a bordo di vaporetti sul fiume Mississippi, con Charlie Creath, alla testa della sua Whispering Gold Band (1922), a New Orleans e nuovamente a St Louis prima di partire per Chicago (1924), dove suona a fianco di Earl Hines. New York, 1925: con gli Sharps And Flats White Snow di Ed Daily.

Comincia ad incidere, soprattutto in compagnia di Clarence Williams (oltre 200 dischi tra il 1927 e il 1937) e di Willie The Lion Smith (1935). Suona soprattutto musica da ballo, dirige un’orchestra nella metà degli anni ’40, fa parte dell’orchestra del pianista Benton Heath (1945), ma deve poi ridurre la propria attività per ragioni di salute. Negli anni ’50 partecipa ancora ad alcune sedute di registrazione.

Trombettista dalla tecnica molto precisa, dalla sonorità soave ereditata da Joe Smith, e ottimo manipolatore i sordine alla King Oliver, Ed Allen, collaboratore ideale per Clarence Williams, con l’estremo virtuosismo delle sfumature, dei registri e degli effetti, annuncia i virtuosi polivalenti delle sezioni delle big band.
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[P.C., Ph.B.]

American trumpet player (Nashville, Tennessee, 15.12.1897 - New York, 28.1.74). At the age of six he settled in St Louis with his family. In 1907 he studied piano, then devoted himself to the cornet, and, still a teenager, he played in a military band.

First truck driver, it was only in 1916 that he became a professional musician. He plays in St Louis at a gas station in Seattle with pianist Ralph Stevenson. Aboard steamboats on the Mississippi River, with Charlie Creath, at the head of his Whispering Gold Band (1922), in New Orleans and again in St Louis before to leave for Chicago (1924), where he plays alongside Earl Hines. New York, 1925: with Ed Daily's Sharps And Flats White Snow.

He begins to record, especially in the company of Clarence Williams (over 200 records between 1927 and 1937) and Willie The Lion Smith (1935). He mainly plays dance music, conducts an orchestra in the mid-1940s, is part of the orchestra of the pianist Benton Heath (1945), but has to reduce his activity for health reasons. In the 1950s, he still participated in some recording sessions.

Allen was a trumpeter with an exact technique, with a sweet sonority inherited from Joe Smith. He was an excellent manipulator of the King Oliver mutes and an ideal collaborator for Clarence Williams. The extreme virtuosity of nuances, registers, and effects announces the significant band sections' polyvalent virtuosos.
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[P.C., Ph.B.]