New York native, Allan Harris is a man with some serious jazziness that will blow your mind away and send your ears floating into a sea of beautiful melodies.

Harris has won numerous awards including three-time winner of the NY Nightlife Award for “Outstanding Vocalist”, Chamber of Music America Grant Winner, and Harlem Speaks: Jazz Museum of Harlem Award. He has produced many great albums, most recently “Open Up Your Mind” which will be celebrated at his concert launch at B.B. King’s show on September 25, 2011.

Times Square was fortunate to talk with him about his musical roots, the new CD, and much more.

TimesSquare.com: Tell me about how was it growing up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn?

Allan Harris: The time I grew up in Brooklyn was a few years right after the civil rights, so it was a new day for everyone. I went to Catholic school, one of the first integrated schools in the Brooklyn area. There was a vibe [of music] in my house that was conducive to someone who wanted to make a career out of a singer-songwriter. So it was a wonderful time for me, and plus Crown Heights area was a wonderful experiment...all these cultures clashing: Irish, Jewish, Blacks...Just a wonderful time for a child to grow up in.      

TS: What inspires you about Jazz and Blues?

AH: That’s a good question. What inspired me was the excitement of being part of this experiment called America. My family background racially, culturally had a small part of that. My aunt was involved with a man named Clarence Williams who was the first black record producer in the country. She had a son by him, who is my first cousin. So we used to hang out at this record store in Harlem all the time. I had another aunt from the same side of the family that had a soul food restaurant right down the street from the Apollo, so growing up I would spend my Sundays going to the Apollo and seeing all these wonderful entertainers and they would all come to eat food at her soul food restaurant. And through osmosis, I developed a love for this music.         

TS: Can you tell me more about Mr. Cook and the Barbershop?

AH: Oh wow! How did you know about that? Mr. Cook used to cut my hair as a child. Each neighbourhood, especially in Black areas, the barbershop was the hangouts especially for older Black men because the clubs was taboo for people of colour. So they would congregate in these places and gossip, listen to the radio, play checkers, whatever it is that men sometimes do. I would go there after school and I would hang out get my hair cut maybe once a month. He [Mr. Cook] had a big dog that he would let me walk and give me a dollar. And they would play everything from country, jazz, blues...they didn’t really like rock & roll all that much....they were from the old-school. But I remember walking past the barbershop and there was this big poster of this man in a leather jacket playing a white Stratocaster with a headband around his head. It was a poster of Jimi Hendrix and it blew my mind, I must have stood there for fifteen minutes, and the song Purple Haze was playing on the record player...The old guys were complaining...and he [Mr. Cook] gave me that record...And I went home tried to learn the music, and that was my first introduction to rock & roll...to find out I through this music can express myself and there was no colour barrier with it. Thanks to Jimi Hendrix.

TS: Yes, Jimi’s impact sure did open a lot of doors for people and music. So did you always know you wanted to be a musician?

AH: Yeah, I mean it was like a natural progression. I loved it so much and it was in my household all the time. I never made a conscious effort when I was a child; it was just a part of my fabric growing up. I was always surrounded by musicians and artists so it was just part of what I was as a human being.  

TS: In grade 3 you performed Bobby Vinton’s Blue Velvet for your classmates. Can you recall how you felt when you performed?

AH: I was nervous, really nervous. Because each week by last name alphabetical two or three kids did something. My mother was adamant that I was going to sing a song. And I thought ‘oh you gotta be kidding me.’ Being a young boy I had all my peers there laughing and giggling...As I started singing this girl, Francis, stopped the class and got the principal and three or four nuns and made me sing the song again. And I saw their reaction on their face and my classmates. I think that was a watershed moment for me...I knew that I had a gift. I didn’t know I was going to do it at the time, but it was the first spark in my mind...

TS: I have read that you support many good causes such as the Children’s Miracle Network. What inspires you to be a part of these charities?

AH: Because I come from a background of giving and I feel privileged to be in this time and place. What better way to beat the drum is by example and I feel especially involved with children because that is where you can really effect where we’re going as a nation, as a people. It’s from my heart, my soul, it makes me feel good...not just to give, but to see people that you give to react, smile...It enhances what I am as a human being.

TS: Can you tell me about your new CD “Open Your Mind”? How is it different from other records you’ve produced?

AH: It’s the first all original project that I’ve done. It’s been in the back of my mind for years. The songs are songs through my journey as an artist the past few years. I just threw caution into the wind and said I am not going to worry about critics, my peers...So the CD “Open Up Your Mind” is a metaphor to open up my mind. Let people peer inside....not to judge, but to see where I’ve been and where I’m going as an artist and a person on this planet. I’m really having fun with it and it’s gotten a good response. Each night that we perform it we find different ways to interpret the songs. This one really expresses and shows what I am.

TS: What can fans expect from your live show and CD release party at B.B. Kings on Sept. 25th?

AH: One thing they are going to find out is that as an artist and vocalist... [there’s] a little more flavour as far as my guitar playing. As a vocalist I am interpreting through my instrument and that will be surprising because a lot of my fans haven’t heard me playing this type of guitar before. What else...I have a new set of guys, who are young, fresh, untainted by the industry. They’re real hot cats!

TS: Awesome! Good luck with the show and it was a pleasure talking with you.

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