The Sound of Naptown: Steve Allee Big Band’s Landmark Year

In 2025, pianist, composer, and bandleader Steve Allee gave Indianapolis jazz fans a gift: not one, but two extraordinary albums with his big band. Both Naptown Sound and Full Circle capture the rich tradition of Indy jazz while charting bold new creative directions. As longtime jazz supporter and writer Kenneth Gotschall observed, “The records serve as a tribute to the Indianapolis jazz heritage, but Steve and the band take it to creative new places, and leave us with a towering, powerful, thought-provoking earworm of a record.”

Naptown Sound

The studio album, Naptown Sound, is a masterclass in composition, performance, and recording quality. “The piano is extremely well recorded. The bass and drums— which can be tricky—are mixed forward enough, easy to hear but still supportive of the band. The horn solos are never buried by the band’s background figures. The mix gives the impression of being in the room, but without the clinking glasses,” Gotschall wrote.

The album opens with a reimagining of Wes Montgomery’s “Full House,” a fitting tribute to the legendary guitarist who helped shape the sound of Indianapolis jazz. From there, the music travels through funky grooves, intricate ensemble writing, and deeply personal compositions from Allee. “The band serves notice that they are ‘here to play’ before the melody is even stated; they crush this one—but it’s just an appetizer,” Gotschall noted.

Pieces like “Cookin’ at the Kitchen” (described as “a cruise up College Avenue on a cool summer evening”) and “Naptown Nights” (“a journey, a space, an experience—something very special, if you’re listening”) showcase Allee’s remarkable range as a composer. The album closes with Claude Sifferlin’s “Zebra II,” which Gotschall called the perfect choice: “If Wes was Indy’s OG, then Claude was its Questlove. Endlessly knowledgeable, inherently hip, unbothered and totally himself. Makes sense for Steve to close this tribute with Claude.”

Full Circle

While Naptown Sound looks outward to celebrate the city’s heritage, Full Circle feels like an inward reflection—a return to themes and ideas that have shaped Allee’s musical voice across decades. The album showcases his ability to synthesize tradition and innovation, combining lush ensemble writing with deeply personal harmonic colors.

Where Naptown Sound bursts with tributes and groove-driven energy, Full Circle presents a more expansive, almost cinematic approach. It is music that situates Allee within the lineage of great big band composers while affirming his unique place in that tradition. Together, the two albums reveal different sides of the same artist: the bold architect of the Naptown sound, and the reflective craftsman bringing his career-long journey back to its essence.

Kenneth Gotschall also attended the Naptown Sound release concert on August 9, and his reflections capture the energy of the night. “The room was buzzing, and quite a few members of the Indianapolis jazz community were there to listen. When Steve gets the big band together, it’s a thing—the music is exciting, a big band is powerful, and you can tell the guys have fun playing Steve’s music—which is in turn fun for the audience.”

Hearing the music live proved just how deeply the ensemble owned Allee’s intricate writing. “They played these new pieces with total authority, and the intricate counter lines and dramatic changes in dynamics, all the nuances that make this music special, were very well executed,” Gotschall wrote. Between solos, playful exchanges, and Allee’s stories from the bandstand, the evening was a celebration not only of a new record but of Indy’s thriving jazz community.

A Year of “Multitudes”

With Naptown Sound and Full Circle, Steve Allee and his big band have given us more than just music. They’ve offered a powerful reminder that the Indianapolis jazz tradition is alive, evolving, and endlessly creative. As Gotschall summed it up: “Get the records—they’re those where you’ll hear new and different things each time you listen. ‘Multitudes,’ you might say.”

At the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation, our mission is to preserve the legacy of jazz in Indianapolis and ensure its future for generations to come. Albums like Naptown Sound and Full Circle remind us that the music of this city is not only part of our history, but a living, evolving art form that deserves to be celebrated, studied, and shared.

By supporting the Foundation, you help us continue this important work—whether through educational programs, performances, or preserving the stories of the artists who shaped the Naptown sound. We invite you to join us in keeping this legacy alive.

Footnote: Both recordings “Naptown Sound” and “Full Circle” were created as part of the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation’s From the 317 project, an initiative dedicated to spotlighting and preserving the city’s world-class jazz legacy.