The only child of Bernard and June Allen, Pete Allen was born in Newbury, Berkshire, England,[3] educated at Winchcombe primary and junior schools, then Downs School at Compton. At Downs he was taught music by Don Paxton, who gave him a grounding in classical music.
Pete Allen Newbury Feb 2020Pete Allen Jazz Band, Sidmouth, November 2019
Allen became interested in music while at school when he started to play clarinet with his father's band. Bernie Allen had formed a trio with organ, drums and himself on banjo, known as Pete Giles and his Merry Men. After a brief career as a P.C. in Thames Valley Police Force, Allen joined Rod Mason's Jazz Band in 1976. The band's line-up was Rod Mason (trumpet), Chris Haskins (bass), Jimmy Garforth (drums), Johnny Withers (banjo), Pete Allen (clarinet and saxophone) and Roger Marks (trombone).
Allen formed his band in October 1978 with Janusz Carmello (trumpet), John Armatage (drums), Campbell Burnap (trombone), Bernie Allen (banjo) and Tony Bagot (bass). During the early years the band made thirty appearances on Pebble Mill at One for BBC Television.
In 1983, the Pete Allen Jazz Band made the first of several trips to the Old Sacramento Dixieland Jazz Jubilee in California. Their first concert was played to a 4,500 audience with Chris Hodgkins (trumpet), Ian Bateman (trombone), Tony Bagot (bass) and Graham Scriven (drums). In 1984 Allen was invited to lead the Worldwide All Stars with Jack Lesberg (bass) and Barrett Deems (drums), who had both played with Louis Armstrong's All Stars.
In 1992, Allen organized a trip to New Orleans with British musicians. He was invited to meet the city mayor and was awarded an Honorary Citizenship of New Orleans for services to British music and tourism.
The Pete Allen Jazz Band (usually six or seven musicians) and his Dukes of Wellington (normally four or five) has appeared at jazz festivals, theatres and clubs throughout the UK and in France, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain.
During November 2019, Allen celebrated his 65th birthday with a weekend program of Jazz at the Sidholme Hotel, Sidmouth. Guests included Enrico Tomasso (trumpet) and Tad Newton's Jazz Friends.[4]
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all live appearances were cancelled from March 2020. Following relaxation of Covid-19 rules, live performances started up again from July 2022.
The current band line-up consists of Roger Marks (trombone), Chris Hodgskins (trumpet), Dave Hanratty (bass), James Clemas (piano), Jim Newton (drums) and is led by Allen (clarinet, saxophones, banjo and vocals.
Allen published On the Beat: My Life as a Jazz Musician.[5]
