Tiras Allen was born and raised in a musical family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a drummer and singer, beginning his music career at the age of 8.  Steeped in Gospel and R&B, he performed in many shows by the time he was 10. Tiras has worked with  Aretha Franklin, Bobby Brown and Howard Hewitt to name a few.  
 

As a well respected writer, arranger and performer throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania,  Allen arranges for top drum and bugle corps as well as teaching within the indoor drum line competitions.

These days he can be found singing and playing drums for Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, where he met Musical Director and partner on this CD, Fred Hicklin Sr.  
 

 

Hailing from Buffalo, N.Y., Producer Fred Hicklin Sr. also grew up in a musical household surrounded in Gospel and R&B.  "My first and greatest influence  was my mother, who's favorites were organ and piano," says Hicklin.   With his natural musical abilities, Hicklin was able to pick up the style of music taught by his church organist on their Hammond B3.  Main gospel influences for Fred were and are George Duke, Kirk Whalum, Eddie Howard Jr., Fred Hicklin Jr. and Darrel Williams.  
 

An accomplished writer and producer, Hicklin owns and operates his studio and production company, "Fred One Music" in Akron. He is Minister of Music at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church.  
 

<FREDHICKLINSR@Digipraise.com> 
 

I asked Fred and Tiras to come up with an R&B/ Gospel version of John's "Jefferson Walker," something a bit more old school.  And so they did.  Where John's version of the story was more angry, Tiras and Fred came up with something more gentle and forgiving, an angle I'll admit I hadn't thought of.  It's topped off with those great saxophone parts by Michael Swan.