“She was so out, and so in,” wrote pianist and JazzTimes columnist Ethan Iverson of Geri Allen. “In the mid-’80s, very few could say they could play with anybody, but Allen could cross any bridge.”
In many ways, the jazz world still hasn’t come to grips with what it lost on June 27, 2017. Many insist even now that Brad Mehldau is the most important pianist of the last 40 years; I myself was once known to argue for Mulgrew Miller. With no disrespect to either Brad or Grew (or any other contenders), both are wrong.
Geri Allen had a remarkable range that could make her an ardent disciple of Eric Dolphy and Andrew Hill and Charlie Parker and Mary Lou Williams—which she was. What’s more, she could play both ends of the spectrum at once: deep blues figures played over interconnected rhythms, elongated phrases against strict 32-bar forms, atonal torrents ripping through ballads. When she did it, it sounded not only original and distinctive, but completely intuitive—as if it were the kind of go-to technique you could find anywhere.
We honor Allen as an important figure; we should revere her as jazz divinity. Again quoting Iverson: “In this music, there was before Geri Allen and after Geri Allen. She’s that important.” Here are 10 tracks to prove it.
Listen to a Spotify playlist featuring most of the songs in this JazzTimes 10:
