The Deacon and the Choir, Allan Harris Delivers the Holy Trinity of Jazz

What’s it like to listen to the singer Allan Harris? He starts by making you feel like you’re at a party, with everybody moving to the music. Next thing you know, you’re right in the middle of an intimate love scene. Then he takes you to church, which is both a different kind of a party and a Sunday kind of love. Mr. Harris is fundamentally a crooner, with a deep resplendent baritone — the kind that can soothe and excite at the same time. It was 2021 when he released his latest album, “Kate’s Soulfood,” but things being what they are he hasn’t had a chance to do a proper New York release event until this past week, at Dizzy’s Club. As a performer — singer, frequent guitarist, songwriter, and full-time bandleader — Mr. Harris’s home base is always jazz, but for the last 40 years or so he has consistently ventured into adjacent musical territories. He spent more than a decade composing and then touring in “Cross That River,” a theater work that combines folk, blues, country, and roots music traditions into a Broadway-style narrative structure; his current set combines bebop with both smooth jazz and soul jazz, not to mention soul and R&B and songbook standards.But a Harris set isn’t about genre so much as groove. For Wednesday’s late show, he included about half of the songs from “Kate’s Soulfood” — a CD of all original compositions — along with interpretations of songs we already know from elsewhere. His touring group, which, he told us, had just played a series of dates in the Midwest and Florida, includes Irwin Hall, tenor saxophone; Arcoiris Sandoval, keyboards; Alicyn Yaffee, guitar; Marty Kenney, bass; Norman Edwards, drums; and the remarkable Geneva-born harmonica virtuoso, Gregoire Maret.Mr. Harris began the late set show with “New Day,” an optimistic slice of sunshine soul about bluebirds and sunny mornings, followed by the classic Johnny Mercer ballad, “I Remember You” (starting with the verse, a la Nat King Cole). He then offered his highly Gospel-ized love song, “Wash Away My Sins,” featuring Ms. Sandoval evoking a Hammond B3 organ and Mr. Harris alternating between preaching and singing: He’s the deacon and the choir at the same time. Thus, the Holy Trinity — upbeat and fun; slow and romantic; and making a joyful noise unto the Lord — was complete in the first 15 minutes.There were several other jazz classics: Miles Davis’s “So What” (from Mr. Harris’s Eddie Jefferson project), Donald Byrd’s “Jeannine,” and two more numbers I like to think he also inherited from Nat Cole: another drop-dead ballad, “The Very Thought of You,” and “Fly Me to the Moon.” Originally written as a waltz (titled “In Other Words”), Mr. Harris has transformed this vintage moonshot into an elaborate funk setpiece, with a heavy backbeat and a wailing, vocalized guitar statement by the singer-leader. This was one of my many pieces with a gorgeous solo by Mr. Maret, clearly the greatest living heir to the legendary Toots Thielemans.The evening ended with a rousing horse race of a number from “Cross That River,” as well as an extended party blues in three-quarters — something like “All Blues” but with original lyrics of a rather intimate nature. At 90 minutes, it was one of the longer jazz club sets I’ve attended recently, but hardly seemed that way: more like a communal love-in than a ticketed event. Perhaps not coincidentally, Mr. Harris celebrated his 66th birthday two nights before Wednesday’s two shows at Dizzy’s. Gone are the days when I could describe him as one of the better younger male jazz singers; now he’s just one of the absolute very best, with no further categorization necessary.

The Deacon and the Choir, Allan Harris Delivers the Holy Trinity of Jazz

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