Steve Allee: Two More CDs

Last year, I posted several times on pianist and arranger-composer Steve Allee. He played a juicy Fender Rhodes on drummer John “The Baron” Von Ohlen’s album entitled The Baron (1973). [Photo above of Steve Allee]

I also posted on Steve’s recent towering big-band recordings—Naptown Sound and Full Circle.

A couple of weeks ago, Steve sent along two more. Most notable is the sublime Steve Houghton Group’s And Then Some, a sparkling recording released in September that features Steve Allee on acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes.

Houghton is a powerhouse drummer who started out in the 1970s playing in Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd. As Steve Allee noted in his letter, “When Steve was in L.A., he played and recorded with Freddie Hubbard (for five years) and with big bands led by Toshiko Akiyoshi, Bob Florence and Bill Holman, and he recorded with John Williams.He also is a retired professor of percussion and jazz at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.”

The musicians on this new album are Steve Houghton (d), Larry Koonse (g), Rusty Burge (vib), Steve Allee (p,Fender Rhodes), Jeremy Allen (b) and Erin Benedict (vcl).

The tracks:

• And Then Some (Steve Allee)

• Faraway (Rusty Burge)

• Waltz for Bill (Lyle Mays)

• Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing (Stevie Wonder)

• Make Someone Happy (Jule Styne)

• Blue Comedy (Michael Gibbs)

• Peau Douce (Steve Swallow)

• Fictionary (Lyle Mays)

• Lawns (Carla Bley)

And Then Some is a beautiful album. There isn’t a bad track on here or note played.

The second album Steve sent along is You’re Gonna Hear From Me. It features Steve accompanying vocalist Everett Greene, and was recorded 12 years ago.

Everett has an extraordinary basso voice that is rich and soulful.

To hear the tracks and buy, go here and here.

Here’s Waltz for Bill…

Here’s And Then Some…

Here’s Everett Greene singing Crazy She Calls Me…

And here’s Everett and Steve on A Stranger in Town…