Geri Allen


Geri Antoinette Allen was an American jazz pianist, composer, and recording artist. In addition to her career as a performer and bandleader, Allen was an associate professor of music and the director of the Jazz Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh.

Early life and education

Allen was born in Pontiac, Michigan, on June 12, 1957, and grew up in Detroit. "Her father, Mount Allen Jr, was a school principal, her mother, Barbara, a government administrator in the defence industry." Allen was educated in Detroit Public Schools. She started playing the piano at the age of 7, and settled on becoming a jazz pianist in her early teens.
Allen graduated from Howard University's jazz studies program in 1979. She then continued her studies: with pianist Kenny Barron in New York; and at the University of Pittsburgh, where she completed a master's degree in ethnomusicology in 1982. After this, she returned to New York.

Later life and career

Allen became involved in the M-Base collective in New York. Her recording debut as a leader was in 1984, resulting in The Printmakers. This trio album, with bassist Anthony Cox and drummer Andrew Cyrille, also featured some of Allen's compositions.
Allen married trumpeter Wallace Roney in 1995. They had a daughter and a son; the marriage ended in divorce. Allen was awarded the Jazzpar Prize in 1996. In the same year, she recorded two albums with Ornette Coleman: ' and '.
In 2006, Allen composed "For the Healing of the Nations", a suite written in tribute to the victims and survivors of the September 11 attacks. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008.
Allen was a longtime resident of Montclair, New Jersey. She became director of the jazz studies program at the University of Pittsburgh in 2013.
Allen died on June 27, 2017, two weeks after her 60th birthday, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after suffering from cancer.

Awards

As leader/co-leader

Main sources:
Year recordedTitleLabelPersonnel/Notes
1984The PrintmakersMinor MusicTrio, with Anthony Cox, Andrew Cyrille
1985Home GrownMinor MusicSolo piano
1986Open on All Sides in the MiddleMinor MusicWith Rayse Biggs, Robin Eubanks, David McMurray, Steve Coleman, Jaribu Shahid, Tani Tabbal, Shahita Nurallah ; plus guests Mino Cinelu, Lloyd Storey, Marcus Belgrave
1989TwylightMinor MusicTrio, with Jaribu Shahid, Tani Tabbal, plus Sadiq Bey, Eli Fountain as guests, and Clarice Taylor Bell on one track
1989In the Year of the DragonJMTTrio, with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian ; one track quartet, with Juan Lazaro Mendolas added
1989SegmentsDIWTrio, with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian
1990The NurturerBlue NoteSextet, with Marcus Belgrave, Kenny Garrett, Robert Hurst, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Eli Fountain
1990Live at the Village VanguardDIWTrio, with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian ; in concert
1992MaroonsBlue NoteWith Marcus Belgrave and Wallace Roney, Anthony Cox and Dwayne Dolphin, Pheeroan akLaff and Tani Tabbal in various combinations
1994Twenty OneBlue NoteTrio, with Ron Carter, Tony Williams
1995–96Eyes in the Back of Your HeadBlue NoteSome tracks solo piano/synthesizer; some duos with Ornette Coleman, Wallace Roney and Cyro Baptista ; some trio tracks, with Roney and Baptista
1996Some Aspects of WaterStoryvilleWith Henrik Bolberg Pedersen, Johnny Coles, Kjeld Ipsen, Axel Windfeld, Michael Hove, Uffe Markussen, Palle Danielsson, Lenny White
1998The GatheringVerveWith Wallace Roney, Robin Eubanks, Dwight Andrews, Vernon Reid, Ralphe Armstrong, Buster Williams, Lenny White, Mino Cinelu in various combinations
2004The Life of a SongTelarcTrio, with Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette ; one track sextet, with Marcus Belgrave, Dwight Andrews, Clifton Anderson added
2006Timeless Portraits and DreamsTelarcTrio, with Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb ; some tracks solo piano; some tracks with Wallace Roney, Donald Walden, Carmen Lundy, George Shirley and The Atlanta Jazz Chorus added in various combinations
2008Flying Toward the SoundMotémaSolo piano
2010Geri Allen & Timeline LiveMotémaQuartet, with Kenny Davis, Kassa Overall, Maurice Chestnut
2011A Child Is BornMotémaSolo keyboards; some tracks with Carolyn Brewer, Connaitre Miller, Barbara Roney and Farah Jasmine Griffin added in various combinations
2012Grand River CrossingsMotémaSolo piano; some tracks duo, with Marcus Belgrave ; one track duo with David McMurray
2015PerfectionMotémaTrio, with David Murray, Terri Lyne Carrington ; one track sextet, with and Wallace Roney, Jr., Craig Harris, Charnett Moffett added

As sidewoman

Main source:
With Franco Ambrosetti
With Cecil Brooks III
With Roy Brooks
With Betty Carter
With Ornette Coleman
With Steve Coleman
With Buddy Collette
With Charlie Haden
With Craig Handy
With Oliver Lake
With Charles Lloyd
With Frank Lowe
With Paul Motian
With Greg Osby
With Dewey Redman
With Wallace Roney
With Gregory Charles Royal
With Woody Shaw
With John Stubblefield
With Gary Thomas
With Trio 3
With Ernie Watts
  • Unity
With the Mary Lou Williams Collective
  • Zodiac Suite: Revisited
With "Various"'
Geri Allen portrays jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams and performs with the jazz band in the Robert Altman film Kansas City.