Allen released more than 20 albums as a bandleader, many of which featured her own compositions Rex
Friday 30 June 2017 09:46 BST
Geri Allen was a musically adventurous jazz pianist and bandleader who played with the leading musicians of her time, from Ornette Coleman to Wayne Shorter, and who furthered the careers of other women in jazz. She was known for her eclectic approach, exploring the traditions of jazz and reaching into some of its more arcane byways.
She portrayed pianist Mary Lou Williams in the 1996 Robert Altman film Kansas City, set in the 1930s, but she also dipped into a variety of other styles, from the Motown music of her native Detroit to electronic music and classical works. “I like to look at the piano as a drum,” she said, “as 88 drums with pitch. Rhythm is the core of my music.”
Allen was one of the leading pianists of her generation and, as the Los Angeles Times critic Don Heckman wrote in 2006, “long overdue for the sort of recognition that accrues for the top level of jazz performers.”
read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/geri-allen-obituary-jazz-pianist-musician-bandleader-actress-ornette-coleman-detroit-motown-kansas-a7814786.html
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