The making of the new Allan Harris CD, Black Bar Jukebox

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Ever since he burst on the jazz scene in the latter part of the twentieth century, The Brooklyn-born, Harlem-based vocalist/guitarist/bandleader/composer Allan Harris has reigned supreme as the most accomplished and exceptional singer of his generation.
Harris’ new CD, Black Bar Jukebox, produced by the award-winning producer Brian Bacchus (Norah Jones, Gregory Porter), is his most compelling and comprehensive recording to date. Inspired by the jazz, R&B, soul, country and Latin sounds that emanated from jukeboxes in African-American barbershops, clubs, bars, and restaurants, from the mid to late twentieth century, The CD – which features Harris’ amazing and accomplished band of three years: drummer Jake Goldbas, bassist Leon Boykins, and pianist/keyboardist Pascal Le Boeuf; with special guests, percussionist Samuel Torres and guitarist Yotam Silberstein – also marks his moving and momentous return to his jazz-centered, Harlem roots, where he heard all those aforementioned styles, genres and grooves in the Golden Age of the seventies. Black Bar Jukebox features thirteen selections that include several American popular standards and originals penned by Harris. And his soulful, silken bari-tenor voice dances and trances throughout an eclectic spectrum of moods and grooves: from the moving, midtempo, 4/4 swing of “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “A Little Bit Scared” and the Count Basie-ish, “Jumping at the Woodside” vibe of ‘I Got The Blues,” to the Ahmad Jamal, “Poinciana”-pulsed “Miami,” the Latin-tinged “Cat Fish,” “Take Me To The Pilot,” which can be compared to Les McCann’s soulful grooves, and an ebullient cover of pop singer John Mayer’s “Daughters,” which features Harris’ spare and syncopated guitar strains.

“I’m a storyteller through the genre of jazz.”