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Allen Eager

Allen Eager (Jan. 10, 1927, New York City - May 13, 2003, Daytona Beach, Florida) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.

Eager first played jazz as a teenager during World War II in the bands of Bobby Sherwood, Sonny Dunham, Shorty Sherock, Hal McIntyre, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey, and Johnny Bothwell. After the war he became a regular on the scene around 52nd Street in New York; he led his own ensemble there from 1946-48. In 1948 he played with Tadd Dameron, in 1951 with Gerry Mulligan, in 1952 with Terry Gibbs, and shortly after with Buddy Rich. From 1953 to 1955 he again led his own ensemble. He lived in Paris from 1956 to 1957 and returned to record with Mulligan in 1957; after this, he essentially retired from jazz.

Eager mentioned the death of Charlie Parker and his problems with drug addiction as reasons for his withdrawal from the scene. He went on to pursue other activities such as skiing, competitive auto racing, and LSD experiments with Timothy Leary. He occasionally dabbled in music again, playing with Charles Mingus at the Newport Rebels festival in 1960 and with Frank Zappa in the 1970s. In 1982 he made a comeback with an album for Uptown Records, and toured with Dizzy Gillespie. He died in 2003.


Obit by Todd Jenkins

Allen Eager was part of the famed "Four Brothers" circle of white tenormen who passionately emulated Lester Young's style in the 1950s, making the light, leisurely tone a signature sound of bop and cool jazz.

In his teen years Eager made the rounds of big bands led by Shorty Sherock, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey, Hal McIntyre and others. He began his career as a leader in 1946, recording for Savoy with a young Max Roach. He gained valuable bebop experience in Tadd Dameron's band alongside Fats Navarro and Wardell Gray, then went on to work with Gerry Mulligan, Buddy Rich, Tony Fruscella and Terry Gibbs.

In 1956, battling a drug habit and unfairly overshadowed by Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and other Prez acolytes, Eager retreated from the limelight to clean up and refocus. He explored several other ventures, including race-car driving and skiing.

In 1972 Eager and his family retired to Florida, where he remained as active as possible in Miami's small jazz scene. Renaissance, his 1982 comeback album, helped to revive his spirit and interest in performing. Eager toured occasionally but kept his activities low-key, preferring to focus upon his family.

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15
Album Review

Various Artists: The Birth of Bop

Read "The Birth of Bop" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


Someone famously called jazz the sound of surprise, but all too often, what is on offer is the dull hum of routine. Or something like that. This historic reissue is, however, anything but routine. This is not the first time that Teddy Reig's Savoy sides have been reissued (was he also the mysterious Buck Ram listed as producing one track?), but Craft Recordings took a lot of trouble to produce this very fine selection. If a listener were, ...

278
Album Review

Allen Eager: An Ace Face

Read "An Ace Face" reviewed by Nic Jones


Allen Eager was one of those swing-through-bop tenor saxophonists who seem to have walked this earth in abundance in the late 1940s. An Ace Face is a two-disc set from that period, chronicling work both under his leadership and as a sideman. Within the canon of those players Eager was arguably the one who got closest to bop's creativity. He is thus further “out than, say, Flip Phillips, whilst he lacks the individuality of someone like Lucky Thompson.

He's certainly ...

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232

Recording

Allen Eager: Land of Oo-Bla-Dee

Allen Eager: Land of Oo-Bla-Dee

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Jazz appreciation is a lifetime pursuit. Point being that no matter how many years you spend listening to this music, you will never run out of artists and recordings to dig. The sheer volume of jazz greatness that was created, particularly in the fertile 1940s and 1950s, is extraordinary. What's most astonishing, of course, is how much of this vibrant music was created on the spot. One saxophone giant whose name might not be familiar to you was Allen Eager. ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Birth of Bop

Craft Recordings
2023

buy

Land of Oo-Bla-Dee

Uptown Records
2009

buy

An Ace Face

Giant Step Records
2007

buy

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