By Andrew Poretz***Guitarist-vocalist Allan Harris has it all—a smokey-smooth baritone, mad guitar chops, and he’s a masterful interpreter of jazz and blues standards. For many years, Harris and his wife, Patti Timura Harris, have hosted annual Harlem After Dark home concerts in their uptown brownstone, 
reminiscent of the “Playboy After Dark” television shows, where very cool jazz cats played in Hugh Hefner’s ersatz penthouse living room. In this new show, Harris brought that uptown vibe to Dizzy’s, the beautiful Columbus Circle club, with ceiling-high pictures windows overlooking Central Park, a room that could almost pass for a high-end New York speakeasy of a century ago.
Harris was joined by vocalist Maya Azucena along with tap dancer-singer A.C. Lincoln, accompanied by pianist John Di Martino, bassist Essiet Essiet, saxophonist Rico Jones and drummer Sylvia Cuenca.
The insouciant Harris, dressed in a charcoal suit, open-neck shirt and a black fedora, opened the show with a lively “Drop Me Off in Harlem” (Duke Ellington, Nick Kenny). Throughout the set, he held court by the piano, regaling the full house with tales about Harlem jazz nightlife, and grooving to hi
s artists’ performances between his own songs. Azucena joined Harris for a duet on “Cheek to Cheek” (Irving Berlin), The statuesque singer wore a cream and gold gown, her hair adorned with a glamorous headpiece out of a 1930s fashion shoot. This dynamic performer has a terrific, rangy voice. Lincoln sang and danced on “Satin Doll” (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Mercer). The tall, handsome performer looked sharp in a cream-colored suit with matching Stetson hat.
Harris’s rich, mellifluous baritone enveloped “Charade” (Henry Mancine, Johnny Mercer), a jazz waltz. His voice has a sprinkling of grit, the sound of a man who has lived the songs he sings. A smoky sax solo by Jones perfectly accented the arrangement. Harris accompanied himself on guitar on “Black Coffee Blues” Allan Harris, Ray Brown). An accomplished jazz guitarist, Harris played slide acoustic blues, a particular skill that requires a deft touch to accomplish. His performance here, perhaps because he was sitting, evoked a man playing on a front porch in another time and place. It was Harris’s best number of the night.
As if to answer Harris’s blues song, Azucena performed “Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl” (Clarence Williams, J. Tim Brymn, Dally Small) a 1931 “dirty blues” number with double entendre lyrics, introduced by Bessie Smith. Azucena’s delivery on the “naughty” lines was delicious. Harris and Azucena sang an unusual vocalese duet on “Moody’s Mood for Love,” Eddie Jefferson’s legendary version of “I’m in the Mood For Love” (with Jefferson basing the vocalese lyrics on saxophonist James Moody’s sax solo on a 1949 recording of the original tune). It was one of the set’s highlights.
Lincoln’s terrific rendition of “What Is this Thing Called Love” (Cole Porter) went from a slow rubato (an improvisational shifting in and out of tempo) verse-like opening, to swing, with an impressive tap solo in place of an instrumental. For the finale, Harris chose Duke Ellington’s theme song, “Take the ‘A’ Train” (Billy Strayhorn, lyric attributed to Betty Roche)). All hands were on board for solos. The lyric, instructing the listener to take the A train because it’s “the quickest way to Harlem,” was particularly apropos, with the A train beckoning directly below. This writer danced his way out of Dizzy’s and took the A train, with Allan Harris’s voice still in his head.
Photos by Andrew Poretz
