Gene Allen

Gene Allen (b. Eugene Sufana Allen in East Chicago, December 5, 1928 - d. February 14, 2008) - Saxophone and clarinet. Specializing on bari-sax and bass clarinet, Gene Allen played with a wide range of big-name acts from the 1940s through the 1960s. Beginning at age fifteen, he played professionally with the Louis Prima band for 2-3 years (1944-47) and was with Claude Thornhill's progressive big band in 1949-50 and Tex Beneke (1951-53). Throughout the 1950s, he appears on recordings and tours (some in Europe) with the bands of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. He also played more modern jazz with Woody Herman, Thelonius Monk, Mel Lewis, George Russell, Zoot Sims, and Gerry Mulligan.