(January 7th 1906 - April 17th 1967)

Born Henry James Allen Jr. in Algiers, Louisiana in 1906 the son of famed New Orleans bandleader Henry Allen Sr. learned to play trumpet under the tutelage of Peter Bocage and Manuel Manetta. After beginning his career with "Sidney Desvigne's Southern Syncopators" young Henry was playing with the "Excelsior Brass Band" as well as those headed by Sam Morgan and George Lewis by 1924. In 1927 Red Allen moved to Chicago to join Joe 'King' Oliver and following a brief return to New Orleans accepted a recording contract with Victor relocating to New York City where he would also work with Luis Russell and Fletcher Henderson.