This clip is just one example of the greatness of trumpet player Henry Red Allen, it is taken from "The Sound of Jazz", a CBS special which appeared on television in the 50's. In this footage he is accompanied by his 'All Star Band' consisting of Coleman Hawkins on saxophone, Rex Stewart cornet, Pee Wee Russell on clarinet, Danny Barker guitar, Vic Dickenson trombone, Milt Hinton on bass, and Jo Jones on drums.
Henry "Red" Allen Jr. (1908-1967) was the son of Henry Allen who was the leader of the Allen Brass Band of Algiers, Louisiana. Algiers is directly across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. As a teenager he played in his father's band, with George Lewis, the Excelsior Band and with the Sam Morgan Band. In 1926 he left New Orleans to play with Sidney Desvigne's Southern Syncopaters on the riverboat Island Queen which ran between St. Louis and Cincinnati. In 1927 he joined King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators while they were on tour in St. Louis. The tour didn't go well for Oliver, and the band kind of fell to pieces in New York, but Red made his first recordings while there with Clarence Williams.
*This tune it is important to note, has the writers credit attributed to both Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong both of whom made recordings of it during the 1920's.
