About

At age eleven, Tex Allen won a music competition which resulted in him conducting the Houston Symphony Orchestra. This propelled him into the magical world of music and he hasn’t looked back since.

Dedicating his life to music, Allen went on to study trumpet and to compose and arrange music for configurations from small ensembles to full orchestra. He began his professional career while still in high school, as band leader and as a performer in night clubs and churches.

Allen majored in music composition and trumpet at North Texas State University, and led the United Nations sextet, a jazz ensemble, for three years. He has performed as the leader or a member in numerous New York City Jazz ensembles since then.

Composer, arranger, trumpeter, and pianist, Allen has been an integral part of the world music scene for many decades. Originally from Houston, Texas, Allen has spent most of his life in New York City and touring the world, practicing his craft to welcoming audiences and fans.

He has performed and collaborated with a host of world renowned musicians and stage performers such as Gregory Hines, Johnny Mathis, Freddy Hubbard, Phylicia Rashad, the Gil Evans Orchestra, Melissa Walker, and many others. He also composed the music for the Broadway play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, and ABC’s Carol Burnett Special for Mother’s Day.

Tex Allen is part of the well known, talented Allen family from Houston, which includes mother, Pulitzer Prize nominated poet Vivian Ayers, and sisters, actress and singer Phylicia Rashad, and dancer, choreographers, actress, and director Debbie Allen.