Kris Allen

Saxophonist and Composer Kris Allen, a native of West Hartford CT, was a student of the late great Jackie Mclean. Kris has performed and/or recorded with Illinois Jacquet, Gerald Wilson, Mario Pavone, Winard Harper, Helen Sung, Kendrick Oliver, and the Mingus Dynasty, among many others.  He presently appears in major jazz venues as a sideman, as the leader of his own quartet and as a part of the Jazz Samaritan Alliance Ensemble, of which he is a co-founder.  Kris is a member of the Truth Revolutions Recording Collective and his first disc as a leader Circle House was released in 2012 to critical acclaim.  He also serves as the Artistic Director of the Hartford Jazz Society’s New Directions Ensemble.  A longtime educator, Kris is presently the Lyell B. Clay Artist-In-Residence in Jazz at Williams College, and he has been a resident Artist at the Litchfield Jazz Camp since 2001.