Saturday Night Jazz - Jen Allen Jazz Trio February 20, 2010

February 20, Saturday, 8 pm, $10 / $8 students suggested donation
Saturday Night Jazz - Jen Allen Jazz Trio

Jen Allen is one of the most respected jazz pianists and composers working in New England today. A native of the Boston area, Jen has studied with Jackie McLean, Harold Danko, Michael Weiss and Andy Laverne, and earned a Bachelors of Music in African American Music from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford in 2000. Since that time,her music has taken her around the world, as she has performed in Japan, Turkey, and many renowned American venues.

Jen frequently performs in the solo setting, as the leader of her trio, and as a sideman with jazz luminaries such as Nat Reeves, Charles Flores and Kris Allen. She currently teaches at Trinity College and maintains a busy private teaching studio.

Currently residing in West Hartford, Jen is beginning work on her first solo album entitled Pieces of Myself, and will be performing some new original compositions from it.

Jen has started performing again after a 4 year sabbatical - receiving back a piece of life that had been put aside after becoming a new mom. The last several years for Jen have been filled with the struggles of being a wife, mother, friend, and artist, and all these struggles have found expression in her music. Her songs paint a picture of the balancing act we all do as well as pointing to a furious longing we all share: the need to believe there is more to life than what we already know and see. Her hope is that these songs will inspire us all to know the beauty and fullness of life in the good, the bad, and even the mundane.

Jen is bringing an exciting young trio with her including bassist Matt Dwonszyk and drummer Joe Palmer to bring alive Pieces of Myself.

http://www.myspace.com/jennallenjazz

Official Website: http://www.buttonwood.org