[1] He has worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean,[2] George Coleman,[3] Phil Woods,[4] the Benny Green Trio, and Rickie Lee Jones.
In 1988, Allen and Vincent Herring founded Big Apple Productions, which produced several albums featuring young jazz performers.
[6] In 2011, Allen appeared as himself in two episodes of the HBO series Tremé in a studio recording scene in New York City.
The band debuted at the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) conference in Indianapolis, Indiana with Allen on drums, Freddie Hendrix (trumpet), Tivon Pennicott (tenor sax), Xavier Davis (piano), and Yasushi Nakamura (bass).
[7] In 2021, Allen joined the faculty of the University of Missouri - Kansas City (UKMC) Conservatory as the William D. and Mary Grant Endowed Professor of Jazz Studies.