Dave Allen - my latest CD, "Real and Imagined", is available....

"Dave Allen is one of a number of spitfire jazz guitarists raising the bar on that ever-popular instrument. But Allen offers more than battle-ready chops—his Untold Stories and Real and Imagined are about original music, loftily conceived, with graceful melodic content and subtle rhythmic challenges... he's got the pull to assemble world-class bands every time out." -David Adler, Jazz Times magazine

"Allen has found a true voice, his effortless technique downplays the apparent complexity, paradoxically creating a cool surface sheen that has a white heat glowing beneath it...music that seduces both the body and mind--again and again." -All About Jazz

"Allen has a fully developed and mature approach to composition, technical command of his instrument, and the inspirational fortitude to pull wonderful music from the ensemble. Each piece is like an aural painting or film in the way it slides across the psyche." -Farrell Lowe, All About Jazz

"There is a true sensuality to the guitarist's sound... unfolding his lines with an edge-of-your-seat stealth". - Jim Macnie - Village Voice

"Mr. Allen is a guitarist with a coolly modernistic sensibility, as he demonstrates on a forthcoming album, “Real and Imagined” (Fresh Sound New Talent)." - NY Times

Allen has continually sought to forge a unique vision through his playing and writing, one that features lyrical melodies with lilting, complex rhythms and rich, intricate harmonies. At the age of 16, Allen was already recognized by Guitar Player Magazine as a talent to watch. Born in Philadelphia, Allen moved to New York in 1988 to attend the Manhattan School of Music. Leading his own groups for the past 16 years, Allen has increasingly made his presence felt on the New York scene.

Allen has worked with many of the most exciting young players in New York City, including Seamus Blake, Ravi Coltrane, Drew Gress, Mark Turner, Jeff Ballard, Donny McCaslin, Mark Shim, Gerald Cleaver, John O'Gallagher, Loren Stillman, Tyshawn Sorey, Miguel Zenon, and many others. Allen has two critically acclaimed CDs released on Fresh Sound Records. A 3rd CD is in the works along with several European tours.

Influences
Keith Jarrett, Wayne Shorter, Bartok, Abercrombie, Dave Holland, Steve Coleman, Shostakovich, Ornette Coleman, Coltrane, Ben Monder, Herbie Hancock, Drew Gress, Elis Regina, Willem de Kooning, Wallace Stevens, Stan Brakhage, Adrienne Rich, Metheny, A.R. Ammons, Egon Schiele, Glenn Gould.
http://www.myspace.com/daveallenquartet