Colleen Allen: Jazz musician, Multi-instrumentalist

From Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman Leah Roseman

Multi-instrumentalist Colleen Allen is a versatile and expressive performer based in Toronto, Canada. In this conversation, we talked about her perspectives on evaluating priorities, rising to new challenges, collaboration, teaching improvisation, and the physical challenges of playing so many different instruments. Colleen’s candid warmth and love of music really shine through in this wide-ranging conversation.

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Video and Transcript: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/colleen-allen

photo: Jean-François Gratton

clip of Manteca playing "Mind Monday" used with permission, writer/composer Doug Wilde and Matt Zimbel album available: https://mantecamusic.bandcamp.com/album/monday-night-at-the-mensa-disco

Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (01:34) women in jazz, role models and mentors (11:38) Gloucester high school (13:26) the challenges of learning music (17:18) teaching improvisation (22:07) Women’s Blues Revue, Toronto Blues Society (25:38) learning different instruments, ergonomics and keeping fit (31:19) alto sax “If I Were a Bell” by Miles Davis (34:02) playing in big bands, playing different instruments in Manteca (35:40) clip of band Manteca playing “Mind Monday” writer/composer Doug Wilde and Matt Zimbel (37:19) Accordion, working with actors, different ways of memorizing music (44:07) stage fright, dealing with nerves, challenge state, breathwork (47:52) writing arrangements, Toronto Sax Quartet, Molly Johnson (53:19) life on tour (54:43) Jazz scene in Toronto (56:09) Cirque du Soleil Pomp Duck and Circumstance (01:01:02) solo albums Flashlight and Colleen Allen, Marc Jordan, process of recording (01:06:49) evolution of vibrato in jazz (01:08:33) pandemic, livestreams, Syncspace, Adrian Cho (01:12:40) stopping teaching, assessing priorities (01:15:33) jazz flute demo, Moe Koffman, Manteca Offspring project, Jake Koffman (01:18:50) Oliver Schroer (01:21:44) Soulpepper theatre, learning leadership (01:23:49) student days, how things are evolving in a positive way, the life of a musician