Jazz Giant Steve Allee
photo by Carol Allee
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~by Ryan Stacy
ne way you know you’ve arrived in Brown County: you’re suddenly in the presence of giants. Our tallest trees and deepest valleys are a breathtaking testament to the scale of natural magnificence on display here. And though past giants like T.C. Steele and Bill Monroe helped our community become well-known as the Art Colony of the Midwest, not so well known is that another giant of an American art form currently calls Brown County his home.
16 Our Brown County • Jan./Feb. 2021
Passing him in town or at the park, you’d never guess that Steve Allee—down to earth, understated in appearance, gracious and warm in personality—is a nationally-known jazz pianist and composer who’s worked with some of the biggest names in the genre. Which isn’t to say Steve’s not a jazzman through and through. Jazz is what he’s done all his life (he sent me his resume: it’s seventy-nine pages long). As a boy in Indianapolis, Steve first became captivated upon hearing a relative’s Miles Davis
