Harry Allen Trio with Rossano Sportiello

Mr. Allen is generally acclaimed as one of the leading swing players in jazz today. While other saxophone players have adopted the contemporary sound of John Coltrane, Mr. Allen has remained true to swing with a sound reminiscent of Stan Getz, Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster. He has over 40 recordings under his own name, including three that have won Gold Disc Awards from Swing Journal Magazine. He has appeared on countless other recordings with jazz and pop legends such as Tony Bennett, Dave McKenna, John Pizzarelli, James Taylor, Ray Brown, Tommy Flanagan, Sheryl Crow, and Kenny Barron. Italian-born pianist Rossano Sportiello started classical training at the age of nine, and graduated from the Conservatory in 1996.  He began performing professionally in the Milan area at just 16 years old.  He eventually joined the historic “Milano Jazz Gang” in 1992, touring with the group until 2000.  Sportiello’s musical influences include Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Count Basie and other great jazz masters.  A regular at Switzerland’s Ascona Jazz Festival, Sportiello received the 2009 Ascona Jazz award in recognition of his mastery of stride piano. Stride is a style rooted in Ragtime (think Fats Waller) – where the root note of a chord is played way down on the keys with the left hand then “ strides” up to play the rest of the chord – no easy task!  Sportiello is touted by his friend and mentor, Barry Harris, as “the best stride piano player” he has ever heard. Sportiello’s musical influences include Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Count Basie and other great jazz masters.  A regular at Switzerland’s Ascona Jazz Festival, Sportiello received the 2009 Ascona Jazz award in recognition of his mastery of stride piano.  Sportiello is touted by his friend and mentor, Barry Harris, as “the best stride piano player” he has ever heard. Bassist Paul Del Nero is a full Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has performed with a wide range of stars including Mel Torme, Dave McKenna, Mose Allison, Vic Damone, Robert Goulet and many others.