Alabama has long been a good breeding ground of great musicians. Many who have their roots in the Yellowhammer State have gone on to have successful world-renowned music careers. Montgomery and the surrounding area have turned out many music icons from Nat King Cole, Hank Williams Jr, Toni Tennille of Captain & Tennille, Tommy Shaw, Clarence Carter, Jamey Johnson and more.
One local young man will join the ranks of Montgomery artists who have been nominated for the coveted Grammy award this year. Albert Allenback, a 2012 graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, is being recognized for his artistry as the saxophone and flute player in the group, Tank and The Bangas, an eclectic group that combines a sound of rhythmic soul, gospel and funk. The group has been nominated among seven other contenders in the Best New Artist R&B category.
Allenback started learning music early in life, beginning with piano lessons when he was 4. He took the lessons for a few years but was not very consistent. He became more interested in music when his father introduced him to some great jazz artists who played the saxophone. He was hooked.
He attributes his growth as an artist and musician to his parents, Al Allenback and Jeanne Charbonneau. “My parents were always very supportive and gave me time and space to practice and create. Those things, time and space, are the greatest opportunities for growth ever!” Allenback said.
“Montgomery provided many opportunities for artistic expression, as well” he added. Allenback started his music instruction in the Baldwin band program. From middle school he continued to BTW, where he played in the Show Band. The curriculum was based around live performance, helping him learn the processes of a professional touring musician, which is helping him in his career today. Hands-on experience counted and was a great teacher, he said. “Gigs were graded!”
The opportunities were numerous while in high school playing with Wilber Terrell BTW Jazz Ensemble. “Ample improvisational, professional, and musical opportunities sprung up between and amongst all of us in the band. We even made another band out of the members Jazz Ensemble called Hi-Def,” he said. “The Alabama Jazz and Blues Federation’s weekly jazz jam sessions were a great gathering of students and professionals and (most importantly) audience.”
After graduation, Allenback moved to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, armed with the Ellis Marsalis Jazz Studies scholarship. He said, “My dad really came around to the whole music thing when he found out it paid for college!” While there, he played gigs around New Orleans, getting to know more about himself and what he wanted in relation to music. “I was pretty much set on the gigging musician path when a few special albums and concerts got me thinking about other avenues of expression and living. Chance the Rapper’s 2013 mixtape ‘Acid Rap’ and its chords and horns and joy made me start producing my own songs.”
He continued, “I saw the Robert Glasper Experiment that same year and was blown away by the band’s saxophonist, Casey Benjamin’s use of effects, pedals and vocoder, and it firmly shifted my focus to playing music that was relevant, thoughtful and cool, an expression of the times, not jazz standards to which I don’t feel connected. With my heart set on making music that was more “me” and of the moment, my heart and mind opened to every opportunity I could get, ‘jazz’ or not.”
Tank and the Bangas formed in 2011 and Allenback joined in 2014. He said, “I was opening up to every opportunity I could find. I answered a flyer hung in my school’s music building, a church looking for instrumentalists. I joined the church’s band and became acquainted with Norman Spence, who played piano there. He was an original member of Tank and the Bangas and still is.
“After several months, he learned I played flute and then asked me to come by a rehearsal to help the band play a song by J. Cole that has a Hubert Law’s flute sample in it. I came by, rehearsed, and was booked for a gig that Saturday. I scouted out the band’s Friday gig, however, and learned the whole show. So, I showed up and nailed it and begged our manager, Tavia Osbey, ‘Please take me with you! And, she did!’”
When asked about how he feels about the Grammy nomination, Allenback said, “We have worked our little butts off touring the country and the world. We put out an album with a lot of love poured into it and we keep trying to connect with people on a deep emotional level at our shows. This whole experience is shocking to me. I quite honestly never even dreamed of being nominated for a Grammy at this point. I am eternally grateful!”
While interviewing Allenback received notice that he had secured tickets for his parents to attend the Grammy ceremony with him in January. He is very excited to say the least.
