Geri Allen


Geri Antoinette Allen was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. She taught at the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh.
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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 seven, 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.

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 was awarded the Jazzpar Prize in 1996. In the same year, she recorded two albums with Ornette Coleman: Sound Museum: Hidden Man and Sound Museum: Three Women.
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. For 10 years she taught jazz and improvisational studies at the University of Michigan, and she became director of the jazz studies program at the University of Pittsburgh in 2013.

Personal life

Allen married trumpeter Wallace Roney in 1995. They had a daughter and a son; the marriage ended in divorce.

Death

Allen died on June 27, 2017, two weeks after her 60th birthday, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after suffering from cancer.

Accolades

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Main sources:
Recording dateTitleLabelYear releasedPersonnel/Notes
1984-02The PrintmakersMinor Music1985Trio, with Anthony Cox, Andrew Cyrille
1985-01Home GrownMinor Music1985Solo piano
1986-12Open on All Sides in the MiddleMinor Music1987With Rayse Biggs, Robin Eubanks, David McMurray, Steve Coleman, Jaribu Shahid, Tani Tabbal, Shahita Nurallah ; plus guests Mino Cinelu, Lloyd Storey, Marcus Belgrave
1989TwylightMinor Music1989Trio, with Jaribu Shahid, Tani Tabbal, plus Sadiq Bey, Eli Fountain as guests, and Clarice Taylor Bell on one track
1989-03In the Year of the DragonJMT1989Trio, with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian ; one track quartet, with Juan Lazaro Mendolas added
1989-04SegmentsDIW1989Trio, with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian
1990-01The NurturerBlue Note1991Sextet, with Marcus Belgrave, Kenny Garrett, Robert Hurst, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Eli Fountain
1990-12Live at [the Village Vanguard (Geri Allen album)|Live at the Village Vanguard]DIW1991Trio, with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian ; in concert
1990-12Live at the Village Vanguard: Unissued TracksSomethin' Cool2022Trio, with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian ; in concert. Posthumous release.
1992-02MaroonsBlue Note1992With Marcus Belgrave and Wallace Roney, Anthony Cox and Dwayne Dolphin, Pheeroan akLaff and Tani Tabbal in various combinations
1994-03Twenty OneBlue Note1994Trio, with Ron Carter, Tony Williams
1995-12,
1996-03		Eyes in the Back of Your HeadBlue Note1997Some tracks solo piano/synthesizer; some duos with Ornette Coleman, Wallace Roney and Cyro Baptista ; some trio tracks, with Roney and Baptista
1996-03Some Aspects of WaterStoryville1997With Henrik Bolberg Pedersen, Johnny Coles, Kjeld Ipsen, Axel Windfeld, Michael Hove, Uffe Markussen, Palle Danielsson, Lenny White
1998-02The GatheringVerve1998With Wallace Roney, Robin Eubanks, Dwight Andrews, Vernon Reid, Ralphe Armstrong, Buster Williams, Lenny White, Mino Cinelu in various combinations
2004-01The Life of a SongTelarc2004Trio, with Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette ; one track sextet, with Marcus Belgrave, Dwight Andrews, Clifton Anderson added
2006-03Timeless Portraits and DreamsTelarc2006Trio, 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
2008-12Flying Toward the SoundMotéma2010Solo piano
2009-02Geri Allen & Timeline LiveMotéma2010Quartet, with Kenny Davis, Kassa Overall, Maurice Chestnut
2011-01,
2011-04		A Child Is BornMotéma2011Solo keyboards; some tracks with Carolyn Brewer, Connaitre Miller, Barbara Roney and Farah Jasmine Griffin added in various combinations
2012-08Grand River CrossingsMotéma2013Solo piano; some tracks duo, with Marcus Belgrave ; one track duo with David McMurray
2012-09A Lovesome ThingMotéma · Heartcore2023Duo, with Kurt Rosenwinkel. Posthumous release.
2015-06PerfectionMotéma2016Trio, with David Murray, Terri Lyne Carrington ; one track sextet, with Wallace Roney, Craig Harris, Charnett Moffett added

As sidewoman

Main source:
With Franco AmbrosettiMovies – rec. 1986Movies Too
With Betty CarterDroppin' Things – liveFeed the Fire – live rec. 1983The Music Never Stops – live
With Ornette ColemanSound Museum: Hidden Man Sound Museum: Three Women
With Steve ColemanMotherland Pulse
With Charlie Haden
With Oliver LakeExpandable Language Otherside Talkin' Stick
With Charles LloydLift Every Voice Jumping the Creek – rec. 2004
With Greg OsbyMindgames 3-D Lifestyles
With Wallace RoneyMunchin' Crunchin' Mistérios Village No Room for Argument Prototype Mystikal Jazz
With Trio 3 At This Time Celebrating [Mary Lou Williams–Live at Birdland New York]
With others

Filmography

Geri Allen portrays jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams and performs with the jazz band in the Robert Altman film Kansas City.