Call it acoustic jazz… or new age jazz…. or even classical jazz.   Whatever you call the music of Ostgard & Allen, it is an eclectic mix of styles with jazz as the main influence.

With Doug Ostgard playing just about every woodwind known to man and Steven Ray Allen playing steel and nylon strings guitars, the duo performs original compositions, music of the Beatles, film music and jazz standards.  They’ve released two CDs, “Silhouette” and a holiday collection called “Tidings of Comfort and Joy”.  They’re currently working on an original jazz oriented project for 2011.

As a composer, Steven Ray Allen has garnered seven Emmys and a Grammy nomination for his work as an arranger and conductor for David Lanz.  He has written music for a number of documentaries, some of which aired on PBS and studied guitar with renowned American guitarist Christopher Parkening.  Steve  was the bandleader and bassist for “The Almost Live” show, and has performed with Kenny G, Diane Schuur, Milt Jackson, Peggy Lee, Tommy Flanagan along with many others.

Doug Ostgard became a talented saxophonist at an early age.  Even though the first instrument he was interested in was the bassoon, he soon became an expert on the sax and all of the orchestral woodwinds. He then went on to learn other wind instruments such as the penny whistle, American Indian flute and the recorder.  He became a regular working with orchestras at 5th Avenue, The Paramount Theater and later in Las Vegas at the Hilton, Caesars Palace and other famous venues.  He worked with many big name entertainers including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Ann Margaret.  He was also a member of the Heart World Tour.

Since both Doug and Steve have performed in the jazz world all their lives, you can expect sparks to fly when these two get together.  Improvisation is at the heart of their performances and you’ll never hear them play their music the same way twice.  They like to connect with audiences and look forward to every performance.