The Fat Dandelions perform at the Lane County Night Market in Eugene

• Devin Perez trumpet
• Shane Allen piano
• Austin Bertak guitar
• Alexandre Pabst bass
• Nika Jin drums

The Jazz Station will be collaborating with The Farmers Market to provide three FREE concerts at the Lane County Night Markets this summer. Named in honor of her parents' love of foraged spring greens, The Fat Dandelions is Nika Jin and Shane Allen's tribute to buoyant and raucous swing music. The Dandies are dedicated to dance music: upbeat jazz standards and well-loved folk and pop tunes all played with an energetic swinging inflection. Possessed of a buoyant and unmistakable touch at the keyboard, Shane Allen's approach to joyous, communal music-making builds upon a vibrant working relationship with dancers (vernacular jazz, ballet, and contemporary) that he has cultivated for nearly two decades. He and his quartet weave supposed opposites into a spellbinding whole, combining a trickster's refusal of strict categories with a folk musician's regard for durable tradition. In their hands, contemporary and classic standards crackle with life, humor, and an undeniable beat. Shane has been a performing pianist and dedicated student of American music since his time at the acclaimed High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX, where he was blessed with the opportunity to learn from modern giants and classic masters, including Robert Glasper, Jason Moran, Helen Sung, Eric Harland, Chris Dave, Dennis Dotson, Sebastian Whittaker, and many others. He continued his studies on scholarship at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where he recorded a piano feature that won the 2011 Downbeat Magazine Award for Best Large Ensemble. Shane lived in Minnesota for 8 years, constantly performing in the local jazz community, accompanying with St. Paul Ballet and the St. Olaf Dance Department, and moonlighting on the avant-noise house show circuit. 
In 2019, he moved to Eugene, where he now performs and teaches locally. He serves as the music coordinator for Track Town Swing (a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to Lindy Hop and vernacular jazz dance), as an accompanist at the University of Oregon Dance Department, and as pianist/organist at First Presbyterian Corvallis.