Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Great Geri Allen



As you can see, I rarely update this blog. When I do, it's because I get a feeling about a musician that is so overwhelming that I am inspired to write. Well, tonight, that feeling is provided by Geri Allen. Mind you, I just finished listening to the great Andrew Hill, but it is another pianist that is inspiring me to write at the moment.

For those unfamiliar with Geri Allen, she has been on the scene for quite a few years now. When I was a student at the University of New Orleans, before the widespread use of the Internet, I spent many hours in the library, looking at the periodical indices and reading on microfiche various articles, mostly from the Village Voice, about this new Brooklyn-based jazz movement called M-Base. It's leader, from what I could gather, was Steve Coleman; but prominent among these members was a pianist by the name of Geri Allen. Based upon these readings, I was inspired to purchase Steve Coleman's "Motherland Pulse" album and this led to my introduction of the great Geri Allen. She has the first solo on this recording, on the tune "Irate Blues", and immediately, it was apparent that this was a special musician. Here was a piano player that sounded different than anyone else, who played "in the tradition" but was also forward looking. Some compared her to Don Pullen and although I understand the basis of the comparison, in no way does she sound like or imitate him. She does, however, belong in his class as far as her unique sound is concerned. She is one of those piano players, like Pullen, McCoy Tyner, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington or Cecil Taylor, that when you hear them, you immediately know who it is.

(As a side note, I'll never forget the day that I was jogging in New York City's Upper West Side, along Broadway, and who do I see standing in front of Birdland? You guessed it--Ms. Allen! I stopped and spoke with her a few minutes. She was surprised and pleased to be recognized and was gracious enough to invite me as a guest to her show that night.)



Geri Allen was born in Pontiac, Michigan, which was fortunate for her as a musician because it placed her at one of the great jazz cities in the world--Detroit. Along with New Orleans, I can't imagine a better city to be in for a developing jazz musician. From Detroit, she attended Howard University in Washington, DC and then moved to New York City before earning a masters in ethnomusicology at the University of Pittsburgh. She eventually moved back to New York to begin her association with M-Base and from there has moved on to become, in my opinion, the leading pianist of her generation.

In that time period, Ms. Allen has performed in various formats. Her "In The Middle/On The Left Side" recording is probably her most M-Based-influenced recording, featuring Steve Coleman on some of the cuts. This is an out of print recording that is highlighted by what I consider to be a classic performance "I Sang a Bright Green Tear for All of Us This Year". It is not a standard and probably never will be one (not that it's not deserving), but it is an absolute gem. It is uniquely "Geri Allen-ish" and features some great vocals by another Detroit-based musician, Shahida Nurallah. Do yourself a favor and give it a listen.

Geri Allen has performed other strong work as a side`artist, most notably with Oliver Lake, Ralph Peterson and Ornette Coleman, but she seems to have hit her stride in various trio settings where she either led or was the co-leader, consisting of her with Andrew Cyrille/Anthony Cox; Allen/Ralph Peterson/Phil Bowler or Essiet Essiet; Allen/Paul Motian/Charlie Haden and Allen/Jack DeJohnette/Dave Holland. These recordings easily rival the celebrated Keith Jarrett recordings as some of the finest trio recordings of the past couple of decades.

Some of her accomplishments include winning the African American Classical Music Award from Spelman College, the Danish JAZZPAR prize and the Benny Golson Award, given out by Howard University and she has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, for which she is composing a solo piano project that she will be performing from 2009 to 2011 in major museums and concert halls around the world.

She is currently a Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at the University of Michigan and she is married to jazz trumpeter, Wallace Roney.

Allmusic.com's biography of Geri Allen sums it up best when it says:

"Geri Allen is the quintessence of what a late-'90s mainstream jazz musician should be. Well versed in a variety of modern jazz styles, from bop to free, Allen steers a middle course in her own music, speaking in a cultivated and moderately distinctive voice, respectful of, but not overly impressed with the doctrine of conservatism that rules the scene at the end of jazz's first century."

If you want to hear just about the finest piano playing today, pick up a recording of hers, or better yet, go see her live in person. You won't be disappointed. Plus, I have a feeling that the best is yet to come.

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