Harry Allen Quartet with Hilary Gardner to Perform in Cooperstown, 7/5

The Harry Allen Quartet (Harry Allen, tenor saxophone; Bill Cunliffe, piano; Joel Forbes, bass; Kevin Kanner, drums?) performs with vocalist Hilary Gardner on Sunday, July 5 at 7:30 pm in the ballroom of the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown. The concert, part of the 17th season of the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival, features favorites from the Great American Songbook.

"Harry Allen is a jazz master. I am delighted to be featuring the Harry Allen Quartet with rising star Hilary Gardner," says Linda Chesis, founder and artistic director of the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival.

Swing Bros. recording artist Harry Allen has over thirty recordings to his name. Three of Harry's CDs have won Gold Disc Awards from Japan's Swing Journal Magazine, and his CD Tenors Anyone? won both the Gold Disc Award and the New Star Award. The Harry Allen-Joe Cohn Quartet won the New York Nightlife Award for Outstanding Jazz Combo Performance of 2006 and was nominated for Best Jazz Combo by the Jazz Journalists Association for the same year.

Harry has performed at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide, frequently touring the United States, Europe and Asia. He has performed with Rosemary Clooney, Ray Brown, Hank Jones, Frank Wess, Flip Phillips, Scott Hamilton, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Gus Johnson, Jeff Hamilton, Terry Gibbs, Warren Vache, and has recorded with Tony Bennett, Johnny Mandel, Ray Brown, Tommy Flanagan, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Barron, Dave McKenna, Dori Caymmi, Larry Goldings, George Mraz, Jake Hanna, and Al Foster, among others.

Acclaimed singer Hilary Gardner grew up in Wasilla, Alaska infatuated with New York City. Her stunning Anzic Records debut, The Great City, is part love letter, part lament to New York and the big dreams it represents. DownBeat Magazine named Hilary "an artist to watch in 2015."

In 2010, Hilary was chosen by the Frank Sinatra estate to appear as the live, onstage singer in Twyla Tharp's Come Fly Away. Backed by a 19-piece big band, Hilary sang solos and duets with Frank Sinatra in a performance hailed by critics as "wonderful" (Huffington Post), "elegant" (USA Today), and "terrific" (New York Observer). Hilary performed with Jeff Goldblum and his band at the Café Carlyle, prompting New York Magazine to call hers "a voice worth seeking out." Michael Feinstein personally invited Hilary to be his featured guest on an episode of NPR's Song Travels with Michael Feinstein. She is a founding member of DUCHESS, a Boswell Sisters-inspired vocal trio with Anzic Records label-mates Amy Cervini and Melissa Stylianou. Hilary performs as a leader throughout New York City and is a frequent soloist with symphonies throughout the United States.

Tickets ($25 adults, $15 students) can be purchased online, cooperstownmusicfest.org, through Brown Paper Tickets by phone, 800/838-3006.For more information, email info@cooperstownmusicfest.org, call 877/666-7421 or see cooperstownmusicfest.org.

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