Lexington jazz pianist Mike Allen entertained central Kentucky audiences for many years. He was the brother of Courtney Allen, another fine Lexington music entertainer.
From the January 13, 2005 Lexington Herald-Leader:
Longtime jazz pianist's repertoire spanned decades
By Jennifer Hewlett
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
He played piano entirely by ear and had a repertoire of hundreds of songs, from old jazz standards to show tunes, in his head. He was in heavy demand at cocktail parties, restaurants and country clubs for more than 40 years.
Mike Allen, once described as the "Muhammad Ali of Lexington jazz musicians," died Monday. He was 60.
"Whenever the horse crowd had parties in the '70s and '80s Mike was the man that was called," said drummer Dave McWhorter, a past president and a member of the board of the Jazz Arts Foundation. "I'm sure that there's people that will remember with great fondness how he would meet every request."
Mr. Allen might have become nationally known for his music, according to those who knew him, but he preferred to stay home in Lexington. He occasionally did perform in larger venues, once even playing in Dubai.
While in the Navy Reserve in the Chicago area as a young man, he considered staying there to pursue a career in music, but something told him to go back home, he said in a 1994 interview.
"It's more enjoyable for me to stay home and perform pretty much year-round and go out of town occasionally, which I do. But I don't want to be out on the road seven nights a week eating out of cans, away from my home, away from my family," he said.
Mr. Allen began learning to play piano by listening to his mother, Almira, and then trying to imitate her style at the keyboard. His mother encouraged him to learn to read music, but his two formal lessons were a failure.
"The teacher beat my hands so bad, I quit," he said. "but I was determined that I was going to be a jazz musician, so I continued to practice. Sometimes on weekends I'd practice seven, eight hours a day."
Early on, he could hear a tune once or twice on the radio and play it, adding his own touches.
Besides his mother, who played classical, gospel and jazz, his early musical influences included his older brother Courtney Allen, also a popular local pianist and vocalist, and noted musicians Les McCann, a Lexington native, and Oscar Peterson, his favorite.
Mr. Allen was most at home playing in intimate settings, either alone or with his trio, which included H.B. Nelson Sr. and Norman Higgins.
"A musician should be able to express what he or she is all about softly just as well as loudly," Mr. Allen said in 1994. "If you have to play loud and hard to express yourself, then there's something about yourself that you've missed. Sometimes we all get the spirit and get rambunctious, but normally I love to play just some nice, soft, quiet music. I get a big kick out of it."
Mr. Allen went out of his way to "make every time he played the piano a very moving, spiritual experience," McWhorter said.
He said that the community has lost a gifted artist.
"I grew up with Michael," said Norman Higgins, who played drums in the Mike Allen Trio. "We used to live right across the street from each other." Higgins said that he and his brothers, Bennett and Jonathan, played music with Mr. Allen when they were young.
"It was one little music block ... the 400 block of Chestnut Street. Michael was a real fine musician. I enjoyed playing with him. ... He was one of the ultimate jazz musicians around here. ... I know he's still playing (in Heaven)," Higgins said.
"For years he was the man," said saxophonist David Hall. When big name artists came to town without their own bands, Mr. Allen would "always get the call" to perform with them, he said.
Saxophonist Gary Nelson, minister of music at Gardenside Christian Church, said Mr. Allen always surrounded himself with good musicians and "reached down to the players that were coming up."
"He was a good mentor to musicians, no matter what their instruments," he said.
Mr. Allen's day jobs over the years included stints as a Fayette County school bus driver and as a piano salesman.
Mr. Allen is survived by his wife, Sandy Allen; a daughter, L.A. Baldon; four sons, Keith Ivey, Benjamin Allen, Adrian Allen and Kendrick Allen; his brother, Courtney Allen; and 10 grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at Smith & Smith Funeral Home. No services are scheduled.Mike allen 1944-2005
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