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Remembering Geri Allen

Geri Allen (1957 - 2017)

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Geri Allen (June 12, 1957-June 27, 2017) was a very talented jazz pianist who had her own voice on her instrument.

Born in Pontiac, Michigan, she was mentored by trumpeter Marcus Belgrave at the Cass Technical High School in Detroit.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies from Howard University in 1979, and a Master’s degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh, moved to New York in 1982.

Allen began her career working with the Black Rock Coalition and the M-Base movement, touring with Oliver Lake and recording with altoist Steve Coleman.

The pianist made her first album as a leader in 1984 (The Printmakers) and gradually moved away from the avant-garde, developing her own post bop style which can be heard on such albums as 1988’s Etudes, Twenty-One (1994) and her set of unaccompanied solos Flying Toward The Sound (2010).

In addition to leading trios, Allen worked and recorded with many major artists including Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra (1989), Betty Carter (1993), Ornette Coleman (1996), and Charles Lloyd (2002-04).

Song #1 - Personnel

Geri Allen, piano
Kenny Davis, bass
Jeff Watts, drums

Song #2 - Personnel

Geri Allen, piano
Esperanza Spalding, bass
Tineke Postma, sax
Terri Lyne Carrington, drums

- Scott Yanow

That's how we grow.

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