Allan Vaché

Allan Vaché draws frequent comparisons to a youthful Benny Goodman when delivering swing on clarinet, a resemblance rooted in the fact that the King of Swing counted among the clarinetist’s foremost influences. His tone can shift from searing intensity to mellow warmth, and his fluid execution renders even dense passages deceptively effortless. Observers likewise liken his work to that of jazz clarinetist Peanuts Hucko.

Vaché displayed musical promise at an early age and continued developing that talent through college studies in the 1970s. He trained under David Dworkin of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and also worked with traditional jazz clarinetist Kenny Davern. He soon shared stages with an array of prominent figures that included Lionel Hampton, Bobby Hackett, Gene Krupa, Pee Wee Erwin, Clark Terry, Dick Hyman, Dick Wellstood, Max Kaminsky, Bob Wilber, Cliff Leeman, and Wild Bill Davison. Frequent partnerships also linked him with his brother, flügelhorn and cornet player Warren Vaché Jr. In 1974 he reached Broadway in the production Doctor Jazz.

By 1975 Vaché had joined the Jim Cullum Jazz Band in San Antonio, TX. He contributed to nine of the ensemble’s recordings, among them the CBS Masterworks version of Porgy and Bess. Portions of that score were presented by Vaché and the group at Mexico City’s Cervantino Arts Festival, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center, and additional venues. Multiple appearances at San Antonio’s World Series of Jazz with Cullum’s band placed him alongside figures such as Goodman, and in 1987 the ensemble performed at Carnegie Hall.

Additional credits encompassed radio broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion and Riverwalk, Live From the Landing as well as television’s Austin City Limits. In 1998 Vaché entered film work when two pieces he performed appeared in The Newton Boys; both selections originated on the Jim Cullum Jazz Band’s Shootin’ the Agate album.

He departed the band for solo work in the early 1990s. In 1993 he moved to Orlando, FL, where engagements followed at Rosie O’Grady’s, Walt Disney World, and other locations. Recording projects have appeared on Arbors Records, Audiophile, and Jazzology both under his own name and in collaborative settings. A dozen albums for the German label Nagel-Heyer include six on which he led groups such as the Florida All-Stars, Swingtet, and the Big Four.

Bass player Warren Vaché Sr. is Vaché’s father. During the clarinetist’s childhood the family lived in Rahway, NJ. He received his degree from Jersey City State College in 1975.