Geri Allen's Blog

More Summer Dates for Geri Allen

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:00:00 +0000

June 17, 2008
JVC Jazz Festival / Tribute to Alice Coltrane
Ravi Coltrane, Saxophone
Geri Allen, Piano
Charlie Haden, Bass
Jack De Johnette, Drums
Ethical Culture Theatre - New York City

August 31, 2008
Detroit Jazz Festival
Ravi Coltrane, Saxophone
Geri Allen, Piano
Charlie Haden, Bass
Jack De Johnette, Drums

Click here for all of Geri's upcoming tour dates.

Schedule Change for Geri Allen

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:34:00 +0000

Geri's Village Vanguard dates have changed to December 2 - 7, 2008.

GERI ALLEN Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:35:00 +0000

April 7, 2008

GERI ALLEN Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of stellar achievement and exceptional promise for continued accomplishment. One of the hallmarks of the Guggenheim Fellowship program is the diversity of its Fellows, not only in their fields of endeavor but in their geographic location and ages.

Geri A. Allen, associate professor of music, for music composition. Allen's project celebrates humanity and embraces the continuity of innovation as personified by three artists - pianist-composers Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Cecil Taylor.

Allen Says:

I am grateful to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for honoring me and my work today with this prestigious award.
Every artist dreams of the chance to freely create unimpeded. As a working mother of three children, this honor
Encourages me, and will give me the freedom to create what I hope will be my best work.

"Refractions", my composition will celebrate the humanity and embrace the continuity of innovation in Jazz, as personified by three of the revolutionary
Pianist- composers: Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Cecil Taylor.
Jazz is a music of continuity and a direct outgrowth of the spirit of a people who rose, thrived and innovated in spite of impossible odds.
My new music will speak to freedom. Just as light passes through a prism and emerges in a new direction, I will allow the music of
Taylor, Tyner and Hancock to pass through me, in the hope that my new work will emerge at a different angle through the prism
Of my compositional imagination.

Click here .

Geri Allen Tour Schedule - 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:47:00 +0000

Geri Allen - ITINERARY 2008

February 21-24 Thurs.-Sun
IRUDIM 8:30pm & 10:pm
New York, New York
(David Weiss’s band)

February 26 Tuesday
MIDDLE TENNESSE STATE 7:30pm
T. Earl Hinton Music Hall
Middle, Tennessee
(Solo)

March 6-9 Thurs.-Sun
IRIDIUM
New York, New York 8:30pm & 10:30pm
(Oliver Lake – Trio 3)

March 29 Saturday
NJPAC 3: PM
One Center Street
Newark, New Jersey

April 17-20 Thurs – Sun
IRIDIUM
New York, New York
(The Headhunters)

April 24 -26 Tues – Wed
Greenville, North Carolina
(Solo residency) Play with faculty

August 26 – 27
RED SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL
Israel
(Terri Lynn Carrington)

October 23-25 Thurs - Sat
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Residency
New York, New York

November 4 – 9 Tues – Sun
VILLAGE VANGUARD 9:00PM & 11:PM
New York, New York

*New dates will follow:

Click here for geriallen.com.

Geri to Play at MTSU

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 04:50:00 +0000

Award-winning jazz pianist Geri Allen will perform a free and open concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus.
"Allen is currently one of the top jazz pianists in the world,” said Don Aliquo, coordinator of jazz studies and professor of saxophone at MTSU. “She has been at the forefront of some of the most creative jazz to be performed in recent years.”
The evening event will feature Allen performing a solo piano concert. She will also be conducting a master class in conjunction with the concert.

Click here for the link on the MTSU Blog.

Lauded Composer Finishes Residence at Harvard

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 02:39:00 +0000

Geri Allen is finishing up a week-long residency at Harvard consisting of educational discussions, performances, and hands-on practice. The Music Department originally invited her to participate in the lecture with funding from the Blodgett Distinguished Artists’ Series, but the performer turned out to be in high demand.

Click here for more info at the Harvard Crimson.

Caramoor Jazz Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:47:00 +0000

Caramoor Jazz Festival
Venetian Theater
Katonah, New York
Geri Allen Trio
Saturday July 28
4:00PM - 1 hour set

Click here for more info.

Geri Allen at the JVC Jazz Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:35:00 +0000

JVC Jazz Festival
www.festivalproductions.net
The Studio Museum in Harlem
144 W. 125th St.
New York, N.Y.

Trio plus Tap Dancer
Wednesday June 27 7:30PM - one ninety minute set

Click here for tickets and more information.

Showing Off Fleet Fingers and Flying Feet at NYTimes

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 03:59:00 +0000

After taking the stage at Zankel Hall on Wednesday night, the pianist Geri Allen read a statement from a scrap of paper, claiming to be too nervous to extemporize. But her message was concise and clear: in celebration of Black History Month, the concert would begin with a traditional spiritual and end with an original composition dedicated to Rosa Parks.

Click here for the full review.

All About Spirituality in Jazz

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 02:31:00 +0000

"On Timeless Portraits and Dreams, Geri Allen expresses her religious faith as part of a broader vision of what jazz means to her. Backed by the peerless rhythm section of Ron Carter (bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums), Allen performs a diverse set that includes her intricate original compositions, spirituals, jazz standards by Charlie Parker and George Gershwin, even a selection from a Fellini film."

Click here for the full review at All About Jazz.

Geri Allen Trio at Carnegie Hall

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 18:53:00 +0000

Geri Allen Trio

Zankel Hall
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 at 8:30 PM

Geri Allen, Piano
Darryl Hall, Double Bass
Jimmy Cobb, Drums
with
Maurice Chestnut, Tap Dancer

The daring and imaginative pianist-composer Geri Allen and her trio both embrace and transcend the bounds of traditional jazz.

Click here to buy tickets.

Jazz Festival quick take: Geri Allen Trio

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 05:37:00 +0000

"Saturday afternoon's beautiful set by pianist Geri Allen as part of the Portland Jazz Festival proved that quiet jazz can have just as much -- perhaps even more -- power to take listeners to another place. In a 90-minute set, Allen, along with bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Jimmy Cobb, took several of her songs down to the faintest whisper, and the results were breathtaking. There's tremenous beauty to be found in stillness."

Click here to read the full review at OregonLive.com.

Carnegie Hall Presents the Geri Allen Trio at Zankel Hall on February 28

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 14:46:00 +0000

"Carnegie Hall presents the Geri Allen Trio--with pianist Geri Allen, double bassist Darryl Hall, and drummer Jimmy Cobb--in Zankel Hall on Wednesday, February 28 at 8:30 p.m. The trio performs selections from Timeless Portraits and Dreams, Ms. Allen's 2006 critically-acclaimed release on the Telarc label. Timeless Portraits and Dreams--an amalgam of original compositions, jazz standards, and spirituals--is Ms. Allen's acknowledgement of the artistic, historical, and even spiritual connections that have made jazz the powerful cultural force it has become during the past century. This concert is presented in partnership with Festival Productions, Inc. as part of Carnegie Hall's The Shape of Jazz series."

Click here for the full link at All About Jazz.

International Association for Jazz Education

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 20:51:00 +0000

The International Association for Jazz Education has published a great promotional brochure for Geri Allen. It includes some fabulous quotes from Geri's career and her most recent recording, "Timeless Portraits and Dreams". Including this one:

"Almost an omnibus work of the connection of the history of black-ness and music, with two Miles vets [Ron Carter and Jimmy Cobb] at her side, she weaves a spell mixing originals with classics that gives you an Ellingtonian feel to the whole thing. A work like this could not have been crafted without deep soul issues that needed to be laid bare. Geri Allen has a sure footed artistic statement here that, at the same time, has no dust on it.” — Midwest Record Recap

Click here to download the PDF.

Soul-Patrol.com - Best of 2006

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 20:33:00 +0000

Timeless Portraits And Dreams was chosen as a Soul-Patrol.com - Best of 2006!

"As is our tradition we will give you our best of picks in the following categories: Live Performances, Classic Soul, Jazz, Funk, Rock n' Roll, Southern Soul/Blues, Nu Soul, Singles, Compilations, Books, DVD's. It's our way of honoring the very best of what we have reviewed during the course of the year 2006."

Click here to check out the Soul-patrol Best of 2006.

Timeless Portraits and Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 13:37:00 +0000

There’s a certain purity, perhaps innocence, about jazz that’s played without the bells and whistles of modern technology and untainted by commercial trappings. When that purity is combined with superb songwriting, you have the makings of a recording that will never sound old. So it is with Timeless Portraits and Dreams.

Click here for the full review at All About Jazz.

Geri Allen Trio - The Bakery 10.18.06

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:59:00 +0000

Geri Allen Trio@The Bakery 10.18.06
By George W. Harris

Away from LA way too long, pianist Geri Allen showed the Bakery audience what it's been missing the past 2 years with an overwhelming performance that featured gospel-derived bop performed with alarming alacrity and fortitude.

Opening with music from her marvelous new disc "Timeless Portraits and Dreams", Ms Allen and her trio of Kenny Davis (bass) and Mark Johnson (drums) played the sentimental and spiritual "Oh Freedom/Melcezedik" with flexible dynamism and sympathetic interplay. On the bebop anthem "Ah-Leu-Cha", the band was hard driving, yet elastic. The snappy rhythmic brushwork by Johnson was so quick that it seemed like a slight of hand magic trick. Davis' nimble bass work bounced around Allen's inventive solos like bank shots in a shooting gallery. The clever call and response between all three on the freely funky "Our Lady" took the form of a musical relay race to see who could pass the baton the quickest, with all three reaching the bluesy finish line amazingly at the same time. Closing with a celebratory "In Appreciation", Ms Allen brough jazz to its church roots. With her piano supplying the down home gospel chords,Davis bringing the swaying rhythm to it's basic beat, and Johnson playing the cymbals like a Holiness tambourine choir, the band took the music to an ecstatic and volcanic climax. Allen's chords fed into Johnson's jaw dropping cross-handed drumming to create a cataclysmic finale that seemed timeless and eternally blissful. No one in the audience could believe the amount of energy being delivered from the stage. Such displays of musical vigor and spiritual vision are in short supply; Allen and her trio delivered the goods this warm autumn evening at the Bakery.

Jazz Bakery

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 12:44:00 +0000

Geri Allen put her heart on the line Wednesday at the Jazz Bakery. Her heart, her imagination, her spirit and her capacity to enliven everything from soul-drenched spirituals to hard-edged post-bop.

Click here for the full review from the LA Times .

African-American Spirituals to be Recognized as ‘National Treasure’ by Congress

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 13:56:00 +0000

If some Democratic lawmakers have their way, the African-American spiritual -- soulful rhythms born of African slaves -- may soon be officially recognized as a "national treasure" in the U.S. Congress.

Click here for the full article at Black America Web .

Deep Waters Flow Still

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 05:26:00 +0000

"Cataloging the musicians who’ve flocked to Geri Allen has made me realize something: I have goddamn good taste. Either that, or Joseph Jarman, Oliver Lake, Arthur Blythe, James Newton, Andrew Cyrille, Charlie Haden, Ornette Coleman, Betty Carter, Tony Williams and Charles Lloyd made dumb-ass choices. When I first saw Allen at CalArts some 15 years ago, she was a mind on fire, flinging herself into abstractions like the demon spawn of Cecil Taylor."

Click here to read further at the LA Weekly ."

Geri Allen on NPR

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 17:25:00 +0000

Detroit-born jazz pianist and singer Geri Allen says she owes as much to Motown as she does to jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Bill Evans for the inspirations for her sound. Her latest album is Timeless Portraits and Dreams -- musician and Day to Day contributor David Was has a review.

Click here to listen to David Was' review of Timeless Portraits and Dreams.

Geri Allen Premiers “For the Healing of the Nations” for 9/11 Victims

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 17:22:00 +0000

In tribute to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Walt Whitman Arts Center in Camden, NJ commissioned acclaimed pianist/composer Geri Allen to compose “For the Healing of the Nations,” a sacred jazz suite in two movements. Allen used the title song of her recently released Timeless Portraits and Dreams (Telarc) as the inspiration for the new suite.

For the Healing of the Nations will be premiered on Sunday, September 10 (3 pm) at the Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts’ Gordon Theater. Participating in this historic concert, with Geri Allen at the piano, will be a large orchestra including Oliver Lake, Craig Harris, Antoine Roney, Mark Johnson and other instrumentalists; the Creative Arts High School Students of Camden; the Afro Blue Vocal Ensemble of Howard University, and acclaimed vocalists Andy Bey, Nnenna Freelon and Mary Stallings.

Click here for the full rundown at JazzPolice.com.

WORLD PREMIERE "For the Healing of the Nations"

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 17:50:00 +0000

WORLD PREMIERE
"For the Healing of the Nations"
"A Sacred Jazz Suite"
For the Victims and Survivors of 9/11
Composed by Geri Allen - Ms. Allen at the Piano

With large orchestra including Oliver Lake; Craig Harris; Antoine Roney; John Blake; Akua Dixon; Kenny Davis; Mark Johnson; Jay Hoggard; Dwight Andrews; Patrice Williams, and Creative Arts High School Students of Camden. Poetry by Sandra-Turner Barnes with Andy Bey; Nnenna Freelon; Mary Stallings The Afro Blue Vocal Ensemble of Howard University.

Sunday - September 10, 2006 - 3:00PM
Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts
The Gordon Theatre
350 N. Third Street
Camden, N.J. 08102

$25.00 Box Office: 856-225-2700

Click here for Ruarts.org.

A Jazz Chameleon Leans Back to the Traditional

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:48:00 +0000

"For more than 20 years, Geri Allen has been an archetype of the new breed of contemporary jazz musician who is equally versed in the most modern, cutting-edge music as well as the most traditional.When she works with more experimental player-composericonoclasts like Ornette Coleman or Steve Coleman (no relation), she may break a few rules, but when she plays jazz standards and the American songbook, it's clear she knows how to follow those rules, and to be creative within them."

Click here for the rest of the article at The New York Sun.

Jazz Listings by the New York Times

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffery Morse) — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:35:00 +0000

August 25, 2006

Jazz Listings
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

GERI ALLEN TRIO (Tonight through Sunday) “Timeless Portraits and Dreams” (Telarc), a soulfully earnest new album by the pianist Geri Allen, includes a number of different instrumental settings, including one with a vocal chorus. Ms. Allen is appearing in a basic but eminently rewarding lineup, with her longtime associate Darryl Hall on bass and the venerable Jimmy Cobb on drums. At 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, (212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com; cover, $25 tonight and tomorrow, $20 Sunday, with a $10 minimum. (Nate Chinen)