2) Vox: Teo Macero (TM int. 11/16/98 at 3:55)

"I'm impressed. I think she's probably the best pianist today, bar none, man or woman. // There's something chemically in the make-up that makes her move forward and get you by the head, gets you to think a little bit."

Geri Allen (GA int. 10/30/98 at 56:50)

"//I use all the information I can// I love the way Ravel used the instrument and the way that Debussy used the instrument//. There are a lot of ways to approach it// but I also, I think as a basis for my departure, the history of the jazz piano, // it's the mothership. (laughs)"

(note: if above vox is too tangled, here is alt. geri)

Alt. Vox: Geri Allen (GA int. 10/30/98 at 55:45)

"When you look at the history of the piano and how its been used in jazz, // there's so much there in the pallette in the instrument, that I have to find my own way through that. // Making the instrument itself speak and finding// the most direct ways to do that//."

Alt Vox: Andy Bey (AB int. 10/30/98 at 16:40)

"She is kind of shy but she's very strong. She's v-e-r-y, v-e-r-y very strong. And you sense that. And she takes charge. //

3) Bradley:

GERI ALLEN IS ONE OF THE TOP JAZZ PIANISTS OF THE >UNDER-50' GENERATION. SHE'S ALSO ONE OF THE HIGHEST PROFILE FEMALE PIANISTS SINCE HER IDOL, MARY LOU WILLIAMS, PRESIDED OVER THE SWING ERA.

3) Bradley (continues)

ALLEN'S OWN MUSICAL PEDIGREE IS THOROUGHLY MODERN -- IN HER PLAYING YOU CAN HEAR THE INFLUENCE OF HERBIE HANCOCK AND McCOY TYNER. BUT SINCE COMING OF AGE IN LATE 60'S DETROIT, SHE'S ABSORBED EVERYTHING FROM AMOTOWN@ TO "FREE" JAZZ. NOW, THEY'RE ALL ELEMENTS OF GERI ALLEN'S STYLE.

ITS A ONE WOMAN SHOW WITH GERI ALLEN AT THE PIANO -- ON THIS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY.

4) Music: (fades)

5) Bradley:

WHEN GERI ALLEN CAME TO NEW YORK IN 1982, SHE STARTED PLAYING PIANO FOR MARY WILSON AND THE SUPREMES. SHE MADE HER REPUTATION AS THE PIANIST OF CHOICE FOR THE AVANT-GARDE. BUT MUSICALLY, SHE NEVER TURNED HER BACK ON THE MOTOR CITY.

ALLEN'S HUSBAND, TRUMPETER WALLACE RONEY.

6) Vox: Wallace Roney (WR int. 10/17/98 at 46:00)

"//Through all her loving Herbie and loving McCoy, she still reminds me of her Motown roots. A lot of rhythmic things still reminds me of Motown. // She's got the whole groove of the whole Motown feeling (sings) , she got that all in her, that's where she's from.// It's like that was the whole spirit of that town//.

7) Bradley:

GERI ALLEN JUMPS INTO THE PROGRAM WITH A COMPOSITION WRITTEN BY AN OLD DETROIT COLLEAGUE --- DRUMMER LAWRENCE WILLIAMS.

THIS TUNE'S COMPLEXITY COMES FROM THE BEBOP TRADITION, THE SNAPPY RHYTHMIC HOOKS ARE STRAIGHT FROM DETROIT. AT THE STANLEY KAPLAN PENTHOUSE, GERI ALLEN PUTS IT TOGETHER WITH "PEACE AND LOVE."

8) Music: Peace and Love (L. Williams) (solo concert 10/30/98) (6:44)

9) Bradley:

GERI ALLEN, SOLO PIANO. "PEACE AND LOVE."

MAJOR SUPPORT FOR JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER IS PROVIDED BY DISCOVER CARD. IT PAYS TO DISCOVER.

GERI ALLEN BEGAN STUDYING PIANO WHEN SHE WAS 7.

IN HIGH SCHOOL, SHE FOUND A MENTOR IN TRUMPETER MARCUS BELGRAVE. BELGRAVE HAS TAUGHT MANY OF DETROIT'S MOST PROMISING YOUNG MUSICIANS, INCLUDING ALTO SAXOPHONIST KENNY GARRETT, ALLEN, AND BASSIST BOB HURST. UNDER BELGRAVE'S TUTELAGE, THEY ALL FOUND A LOVE FOR BEBOP AND THE SKILLS TO PLAY WHATEVER THEY NEEDED TO SURVIVE.

10) Vox: Geri Allen (GA int. 10/30/98 at 36:00)

"The bebop part is very strong because the musicians there take that very seriously and that's what my musical roots are. And those same musicians are the ones that you hear on a lot of those great Motown hits. // They were doing those sessions in the daytime and then playing at jazz clubs at night, you know. // It was not like you did this or you did that, it was like , when you are a musician, you play music, you know."

11) Bradley:

AND WHEN YOU'RE A JAZZ MUSICIAN, YOU PLAY THE STANDARDS. HERE'S GERI ALLEN'S TAKE ON COLE PORTER'S, "JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS."

12) Music: Just One of Those Things (Porter) (solo concert 10/20) (7:50)

13) Bradley:

FROM THE STANLEY KAPLAN PENTHOUSE, GERI ALLEN --- "JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS."

IN THE EARLY 1980'S, ALLEN CAME TO NEW YORK WITH HER MASTERS DEGREE IN ETHNOMUSICOLOGY. THEN SHE SERVED A JAZZ APPRENTICESHIP WITH ALTO SAXOPHONIST OLIVER LAKE.

14) Music cue: Ornette with Geri

15) Bradley:

IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF AN EXPLORATION OF FREE TEMPOS AND OPEN-ENDED HARMONIES THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BRING HER TO WORK WITH THE FATHER OF THE AVANT-GARDE, ALTOIST ORNETTE COLEMAN.

15) Bradley: (continues)

BUT NO MATTER HOW ADVENTUROUS THE CONTEXT, GERI ALLEN'S PLAYING ALWAYS SOUNDS NATURAL.

16) Vox: Andy Bey (AB int. 10/30 at 1:50)

"It's really interesting // how she takes a simple motive and develops it.

 

17) Bradley:

SINGER ANDY BEY IS A RECENT ALLEN COLLABORATOR.

18) Vox: Andy Bey

// (note: skip forward 3 min., if possible) A lot of piano players try to play something 'out' and it sounds like they're trying to play 'out.' // But // the way she blows over the changes, // it's very 'out' there but it always makes sense. // It's still always floating but still always with a purpose. She never seems to be wasting anything.

19) Bradley:

"WHEN KABUYA [ka -- BOO -- ya] DANCES" IS AN ALLEN ORIGINAL. THE PIANIST USES ITS REPEATING RHYTHMS AS A MEDITATION IN PERFORMANCE.

20) Vox: Geri Allen (GA int. 10/30/98 at 3:15)

"'Kabuya' is a like a centering piece. // (note: skip forward a couple of sentences) // That particular piece really allows me to commune with the instrument and it gives me a chance to feel it out. And // it's in the key of F sharp, that's like my key center too. // It kind of calms me down. (note: optional close) The tonality as well as // just the way that piece is kind of built allows me to gradually get ahold of myself // and get my equillibrium//.

21) Bradley:

GERI ALLEN PLAYS "WHEN KABUYA DANCES."

22) Music: When Kabuya Dances (Allen) (solo concert 10/29/98) (12:32)

23) Bradley:

SOLO PIANIST GERI ALLEN AND "WHEN KABUYA DANCES."

24) Music: for midbreak: either Daybreak and Dreams (Allen) (solo concert 10/30/98)

25) Bradley:

MAJOR SUPPORT FOR JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER IS PROVIDED BY DISCOVER CARD. IT PAYS TO DISCOVER.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT COMES FROM NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO MEMBER STATIONS AND N-P-R, WHOSE CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE: THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AND THE LILA WALLACE-READER'S DIGEST FUND, HELPING PEOPLE TO MAKE THE ARTS AND CULTURE AN ACTIVE PART OF THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES.

WE ALSO RECEIVE PRODUCTION FUNDS FROM THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING.

25) Bradley: (continues)

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PIANIST GERI ALLEN, CHECK OUR WEBSITE AT

WWW.JAZZRADIO.ORG. YOU CAN E-MAIL TO SWING@JAZZRADIO.ORG , OR WRITE TO US AT JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER, NEW YORK CITY 10023.

YOU'RE LISTENING TO JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY.

[Midbreak @ tk -- (incl. :10 as bed for local stations ID's)]

[music fades to actuality]

26) Vox: Andy Bey (AB int. 10/30 at :45)

"She's a virtuoso musician// but she has her own concept which is very hard to come by. You don't hear too many people with their concept even though they may play all over the piano. I mean, she's a great writer, a great pianist, a great arranger, // she pretty much has it all covered."

27) Alt. Vox: Andy Bey (AB int. 10/30 at 11:00)

"You can hear the contemporary stuff in her playing cause no doubt growing up in Detroit, she heard Motown.// You can hear the church element. You can definitely hear the classical element. And you can hear the fact that // she probably dug Ornette and she probably played with a lot of the 'free' cats in Detroit. // She came up in that era // back in the '60s when it was Motown and it was the avant-garde//. (note: the alt. vox is more striking but it's really just a summing up of everything we've said the first half. I could go either way.)

 

28) Bradley:

SINGER ANDY BEY

GERI ALLEN HAS SIFTED THROUGH THE MUSICAL CULTURE OF THE '60S AND '70S TO COME UP WITH THAT RARE THING IN JAZZ, AN ORIGINAL VOICE.

28) Bradley: (continues)

IN HER OWN COMPOSITIONS, ALLEN DEFIES PREDICTABILITY.

OFTEN THE AVANT-GARDIST TAKES A BACK SEAT TO THE SWINGER, A REMINDER THAT ALLEN HAS IMMERSED HERSELF IN THE HARD-DRIVING, TWO-HANDED PIANO STYLE OF HER ROLE MODEL, MARY LOU WILLIAMS.

NO MATTER WHAT THE SCOPE OF HER OWN ACHIEVEMENTS, ALLEN WOULD RATHER MEASURE HER CAREER BY THE TEACHERS WHO HAVE INSPIRED HER.

THIS NEXT COMPOSTION, "RTG" IS ACTUALLY A TRIBUTE TO THE BASSIST RON CARTER AND DRUMMER TONY WILLIAMS -- MILES DAVIS' OLD RHYTHM SECTION -- WITH WHOM SHE RECORDED IN THE MID-'90S.

29) Vox: Geri Allen (GA int. 10/30 at 9:35)

"//That was titled 'RTG' for 'Ron Tony and Geri.' (laughs) //. It was a // trio record so I figured, let me put my little initial there. What a great experience that was. It really turned // my whole thing around. // It was like a breakthrough musical experience.// (note: skip forward a minute or so) To hear that every night// it has to effect you. I hope I became a better musician. I'm still striving toward that, using that energy."

 

30) Bradley:

ALTHOUGH THIS TUNE WAS WRITTEN FOR A TRIO, GERI ALLEN DISTILLS IT INTO A SWINGING, PERCUSSIVE SOLO PERFORMANCE. AT THE KAPLAN PENTHOUSE. AR.T.G..@

31) Music: RTG (Allen) (solo concert 10/29) (8:19)

32) Bradley:

PIANIST GERI ALLEN AND "RTG," HER HOMAGE TO RON CARTER AND THE LATE DRUMMER TONY WILLIAMS.

GERI ALLEN'S HIGH FLYING CAREER SEEMS REMARKABLE WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE JAZZ WORLD'S TRADITIONAL SUSPICION OF FEMALE INSTRUMENTALISTS AND HER ROLE AS MOTHER OF THREE. BUT OCCASIONALLY SHE CAN EVEN BRING HER FAMILY INTO HER MUSIC:

HER LATEST ALBUM, "THE GATHERING," HIGHLIGHTS HER WRITING FOR ENSEMBLE, AND INCLUDES THE BALLAD "SLEEPIN' PRETTY." WHEN SHE WROTE IT, ALLEN SAYS, SHE WAS THINKING OF THE FACE OF SLEEPING CHILD.

FROM THE KAPLAN PENTHOUSE, GERI ALLEN AND HER SOLO VERSION OF "SLEEPIN' PRETTY."

33) Music: Sleepin' Pretty (Allen) (solo concert 10/30) (5:25)

34) Bradley:

GERI ALLEN, "SLEEPIN' PRETTY."

THIS IS JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER. I'M ED BRADLEY.

34) Bradley: (continued)

THIS NEXT ALLEN ORIGINAL HAS GOT RHYTHMIC DRIVE, FUNKY SYNCOPATION AND COUNTERPOINT THAT SOUNDS ALMOST CLASSICAL.

BUT FOR THE COMPOSER, THE TUNE ISN'T ABOUT VIRTUOSO CHOPS. IT'S BECOME HER TRIBUTE TO THE SINGER BETTY CARTER WHO DIED IN 1998.

35) Vox: Geri Allen (GA int. 10/30 at 4:15)

"//I've dedicated it to her every time we've done it on tour and that was in my mind as I was doing it//. // The memories of being on the road with her and the fact that she picked the piece as the kind of flagship for the record that // we did together. // She was one of a kind in many different ways. She was a great artist."

36) Bradley:

SELF-EFFACING GERI ALLEN AND DIVA BETTY CARTER MIGHT BE CONSIDERED TEMPERAMENTAL OPPOSITES. BUT THEY'RE BOTH ARTISTS WHO FEARLESSLY DEVELOPED THEIR OWN VOICES.

WE'LL CLOSE OUT OUR PROGRAM WITH THE PIANIST TIPPING HER HAT TO THE SINGER. FROM THE KAPLAN PENTHOUSE, GERI ALLEN AND "FEED THE FIRE."

37) Music: Feed the Fire (Allen) (10/29 concert -- 8:06) (10/30 concert -- 9:10)

(n.b.: both versions fine, time may decide. if not, I need to go pick my favorite.)

38) Bradley:

PIANIST AND COMPOSER GERI ALLEN AT THE KAPLAN PENTHOUSE, PERFORMING HER TRIBUTE TO SINGER BETTY CARTER, "FEED THE FIRE" B AND CONTINUING IN THE TRADITION OF HER MENTORS TO BREAK DOWN THE WALLS IN MUSIC.

39) Music: end of Feed the Fire or The Gathering (Allen) (solo concert 10/30/98)

(edit: harvest from 1:18--3:17 block)

(nb: if we don't use The Gathering here, its my first choice for Midbreak.)

40) Bradley: (Credits)

JAZZ FROM LINCOLN CENTER IS PRODUCED BY JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER AND MURRAY STREET ENTERPRISE NEW YORK. THIS PROGRAM WAS WRITTTEN BY JOSEPH HOOPER AND EDITED BY LAUREN KRENZEL. OUR SENIOR PRODUCER IS STEVE RATHE.

THE RECORDINGS WERE MIXED BY MICHAEL DeMARK AND EDWARD HABER, AND DIGITAL POST PRODUCTION BY DAVID GOREN AT STEVEN ERICKSON'S.

{alt} DIGITAL POST PRODUCTION BY STEVEN ERICKSON.

{alt} DIGITAL POST PRODUCTION BY ASSOCIATE PRODUCER PAUL CHUFFO.

OUR ASSOCIATE PRODUCER IS PAUL CHUFFO.

40) Bradley: (continues)

THE PRODUCTION TEAM INCLUDES GWENDOLYN DEAN, ROB GRADER, AND ANDREW ROSENBLUM.

THANKS TO THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER PRODUCTION STAFF AND THE RADIO FOUNDATION.

THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR OF JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER IS ROB GIBSON. THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR IS WYNTON MARSALIS.

I'M ED BRADLEY. THIS IS N-P-R, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO.