Jeremy Allen is the David H. Jacobs Professor of Music in Jazz Studies (Double Bass) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he has taught since 2006. From 2017 through 2023, he also held a series of senior administrative posts at the Jacobs School, including two terms as Executive Associate Dean and a term as Interim Dean (2020–2022), during which he also served as General Manager of the Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater — one of the largest opera- and ballet-producing organizations in American higher education.

Allen earned his Bachelor of Science in Music (Trombone Performance) and History from Indiana University, a Master of Music in Jazz Performance (Double Bass) with Distinction from the New England Conservatory of Music, and completed doctoral coursework in Musicology, with a minor in Ethnomusicology, at Indiana University. Prior to returning to Bloomington, he spent several formative years as a performing and touring bassist based in Boston and New York City.

A Grammy-nominated bassist (Best Latin Jazz Album, 2016, for Canto América with Michael Spiro and Wayne Wallace), Allen maintains an active career as a performer and recording artist, with more than twenty commercially released albums to his credit since 2013 on labels including Origin Records, Patois Records, Summit Records, and his own Watercourse Records. His principal current collaborations include the AHA/BAHA Trio and Quartet with pianist Steve Allee, drummer Steve Houghton, and vibraphonist Rusty Burge; guitarist Dave Stryker; the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, co-led by trumpeter Mark Buselli and trombonist/composer Brent Wallarab; and the Steve Allee Big Band, with which he performs regularly at The Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis. He has also appeared in performance with such artists as Mike Stern, George Garzone, Walter Smith III, Antonio Hart, Eric Marienthal, Kenny Wheeler, and Bob Brookmeyer. His playing has drawn national critical attention; DownBeat magazine praised his electric bass solo on “Caldero de Ogun” as “worthy of Jaco Pastorius.” His performance history includes appearances at the Indianapolis Jazz Festival, the Ballard Jazz Festival (Seattle), the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Jazz Education Network Conference, and the Shanghai International Jazz Camp.

Allen has built a jazz bass and rhythm-section studio recognized for producing versatile, in-demand professional musicians and educators. His former students perform and record with artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, Makaya McCraven, and David Byrne, hold positions in military service bands, and teach at institutions including New York University, Augsburg University, and Ball State University. In addition to applied lessons, he has taught courses in jazz theory, improvisation, rhythm section literature, and jazz chamber ensemble, and co-created the Jacobs School’s first course in ballet history (M120: Survey of Ballet History).

From 2017 to 2023, Allen held a series of senior leadership positions at the Jacobs School, including two terms as Executive Associate Dean and a term as Interim Dean (2020–2022). During this period, he led the rebuilding of the school’s ballet department, guided the school’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded diversity and equity initiatives across programming and hiring, secured major capital gifts, and oversaw the school’s successful reaccreditation through the National Association of Schools of Music. As General Manager of the IU Opera and Ballet Theater during this time, he also oversaw an annual season of six opera productions, three ballet productions, and numerous non-curricular performances.

Allen is the recipient of the Indiana University Bicentennial Medal (2020) and the Jacobs School of Music Centennial Award (2022), and he is a member of the International Society of Bassists and the Jazz Education Network.