Almost Anything’s Possible For Jen Allen
Her new album, her third, is 'a lot more hopeful'
Jen Allen’s third album, Possibilities, carries a message of hope and connection – and, something new for Jen, contains lyrics (Corey Lynn Tucker photo, courtesy Jen Allen)
It may come as a surprise to jazz fans in southern New England that Jen Allen was not one of those child prodigies for whom the road ahead was clear early in life.
Jen, who started off on the cello as a kid, wasn’t hit by the jazz bug until she was nearly out of high school, and that she would end up becoming one of the region’s foremost first-call pianists (and composers and arrangers and teachers) was anything but a lock.
“Up to the point when I started playing jazz – I was 17, and I had just started playing piano, period – I liked music and thought I wanted to do it, but when I was introduced to jazz I realized ‘Oh, this is what I have been missing,’” Jen told 8495Jazz during a lunch break at Litchfield Jazz Camp; she has been a senior teaching artist there since 2010. “My Mom was very supportive of it. Nobody really said ‘You shouldn’t be doing this’ other than my teachers, who saw people who were really skilled. And I wasn’t really skilled at that point because I had just started. But the bug bit me and I converted – and here I am.”
The “here” in that statement is just about anywhere jazz lovers congregate in the 8495: go down to New London to see Sean Nelson’s New London Big Band, and hey, there’s Jen on piano. You go to a Tuesday night jam at Cafe Nine in New Haven, and there’s Jen with one of her bands, The Hall Monitors. Litchfield Jazz Camp faculty concerts? Yup. Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA? Ditto. Outdoors at the Butler-McCook House in Hartford? Check. The Westport VFW with Rabbi Greg Wall and the folks at the Jazz Society of Fairfield County? Uh huh. Dizzy’s at Lincoln Center? No doubt. How about the iconic Side Door in Old Lyme? For sure.
In fact, Jen will be at The Side Door Saturday night (July 19), celebrating the release of her upcoming album Possibilities. She will be accompanied by the musicians who played on the album, who are also well-known to fans in the region (Jonathan Barber on drums, Matt Dwonszyk on bass, Dan Liparini on guitar, and Leala Cyr and Alejandra Sofia on vocals).
The album, her third, after 2011’s Pieces of Myself and 2020’s Sifting Grace, will officially come out August 22 on Truth Revolution Records (the first single, a cover of Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody,” is now out on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music). It is both a continuation of the “Jen Allen narrative” and a departure, she said.
“They are all little snippets of where I am at any given time. Pieces of Myself, I felt very scattered, as a mom of young kids and trying to have a career. It just felt I was spreading msyelf thin and in actual pieces. Sifting Grace was like moving into a new era of my life. My Mom had passed away and it felt like there were a lot of things I had to sort through, and music is the way I do it.
“This album is a lot more hopeful. I feel like I have gotten to a place where I am happy. There are lot of challenges, but it’s called Possibilities. I feel a lot of possibilities and I think everybody needs to be able to see more of them. I hope this music is an offering to encourage people that when life feels very narrow and people are against you – it feels like everybody is against one another – really, that is not the truth. That narrative is not real. The hopefulness is what I am trying to get through.”
Not that the process of creating this new collection was a totally blithe skip in the park. Sometimes the moments leading up to a breakthrough can be the scariest and most uncertain – yet those moments also lead us to learn to risk, to grow, and maybe to become happier people.
“Until we take those chances we don’t know,” she said. “And once you know you have to take that chance, there’s no going back. There’s actually a song on the album called ‘No Returning’ and it is exactly about that. Once you have that realization there is no going back, you have to follow that lead and it is scary. It’s one of those things that unites us as humans.”
One big leap Jen took with this record is the addition of lyrics.
“I wanted to write some songs,” she said. “I had lyrics that came up – I was thinking ‘This is something I’m hearing at this point in my life, and I have never written lyrics, and I am going to give it a shot.’ So I tried it and it really expressed new things. I don’t feel like I’m a good writer – I express it through music. I can write, it’s just not my thing. But the lyrics were kind of a fun new thing for me to venture into.”
Another new angle this time around is that Jen, who has always been a “let the music do the talking” kind of artist, is consciously going to be a little more vocal about what she has created.
“It’s hard getting the word out,” she said. “I’ve always been shy about promoting myself and for this new album, I am trying not to be. It’s a good album, I want people to hear it. I think people who are not even big jazz fans will like it. It has lyrics. It’s a little more accessible, even more than my last album.”
She is also taking the concept of possibilities and connection beyond her jazz charts, professionally and personally. She’ll be presenting ONE, a multi-movement piece that explores the idea of unity, at the GreenStage Guilford Festival, August 15; she won one of two artist’s grants the festival awarded this year for the project, which will feature audience participation.
Personally, she is also preparing herself for her daughter’s departure for college, becoming an empty nester and the – forgive me – possibilities that entails.
“She’ll be leaving in August,” Jen said, “Don’t rush it – I’m not ready! I have to get ready because it’s coming. She’s excited about it.”
Is there also a move afoot in her own future? Though she has made a name for herself in southern New England, and has a deep appreciation for the fertile ground here, she’s open to adventure if that’s the case.
“I appreciate it for right now,” she said. “I don’t know how long I’ll be here – again, possibilities! Anything is possible. But for now, I’m pretty happy.”
For more information on Jen and her music, her website is at this link.
Among Jen Allen’s many skills is arranging. Here, she’s joined by fellow Litchfield Jazz Camp and Festival pros, including Grammy-winning vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, in her arrangement of Carole King’s “I Feel The Earth Move.” Swing to spare, huh?
Out and About with 8495Jazz
To alleviate confusion, ticket prices quoted now mention service fees as included or as additional; if fees are not mentioned, there are none to our knowledge. Because fees differ according to ticket type, service fee amounts are not included here but are available on venue web sites.
These listings are a curated sampling of shows in the region. As an independent resource for jazz news, 8495Jazz does not receive any consideration, free tickets, or affiliate fees for these listings. Please confirm events are still happening directly with the venue.
8495Jazz Wild Card Gig of the Week
Bushnell Park, Hartford, CT
2025 Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz, Friday, July 18 – Sunday, July 20. Free (VIP and Tent City tickets that entail some outlay are also available). An annual tradition since 1991, the GHFJ is back with a full three-day lineup and vendors galore. Music kicks off Friday at 6 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 pm (jazz mass at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford is Sunday at 10 am). Featured artists include West Hartford native Alexa Tarantino, Lakecia Benjamin, and Donald Harrison.
For the full schedule, click this link.
8495Jazz Spur of the Moment Gig TODAY
The Parlour, Providence, RI
Clear Audience (combo), 5 pm. All ages, GA $10.
Other Shows This Week
Torrington Historical Society, Torrington, CT
Peter McEachern Quintet (trombone, combo), Saturday, July 19, 6 pm. $10.
Music Mountain, Falls Village, CT
Catherine Russell (vocals, trio), Saturday, July 19, 7 pm. GA $50-$65, student/teacher/veteran $20-$35, under 19 free.
Elicit Brewing Co., Manchester, CT
Hartford Jazz Orchestra, Monday, July 14, 7:30 pm. Free.
Regattabar, Cambridge, MA
Berklee Garden Bar Series feat. Jiayi Guo (piano), Wednesday, July 16, 6 pm. Free.
The Side Door, Old Lyme, CT
Jerry Weldon Quartet (sax, combo), Friday, July 18, 8 pm. GA $49.16, students $22.68 including service fee.
VFW Post 399, Westport, CT
Chris Coogan (piano), Thursday, July 17, 7:30 and 8:45 pm. GA $20.76 for first show, $10.76 for late show. Student/vet $15.76 for early show.
The Falcon, Marlboro, NY
Pilc Moutin Hoenig (piano trio), today, 7:30 pm. Free ($30 suggested donation)
Jazz On Main, Mt. Kisco, NY
Ben Simmons Quintet (saxophone, combo), Thursday, July 17, 7 pm. GA $26 including service fee, $25 minimum per person additional).
KuBe Art Center, Beacon, NY
Dick Griffin Quartet (trombone, combo), Saturday, July 19, 8:30 pm. GA $49.87 including service fee, students/seniors $28.52 including service fee.
LaGrua Center, Stonington, CT
New London Big Band, Friday, July 18, 6 pm. Free.
Jams
Cafe Nine, New Haven CT
New Haven Jazz Underground jam, usually 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month: free admission
Saturday jazz jam most Saturdays, 4 pm. Free.
Blackeyed Sally’s, Hartford, CT
Jazz Wednesdays, featured set 7 pm, jam session afterward.
Carmine’s, East Hartford, CT
Paisley’s All Star Memorial Jam, 3rd Tuesday of the month, 7:30 pm. House band set followed by jam. Free.
Mahoney’s, Poughkeepsie, NY
Poughkeepsie Jazz Project, every Tuesday, 7 pm. Free.
Jazz Societies and Organizations (great info on events, festivals, and more)
Jazz Society of Fairfield County
Jazz Fridays at Three Sheets New Haven 1st/3rd Fridays from 6-9pm
Jazz Thursdays at The Cannon New Haven every other Thurs from 7-9pm.
8495Jazz takes its name from the two Interstate highways that cross our region, I-84 and I-95. Within short driving distances from either, you can find incredible entertainment, from local jams to world-famous festivals in New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. 8495Jazz: From Newburgh to Newport!
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The piano player appears to be a young child. WTF?