As an advocate of Jazz scholarship and an admirer of the African-American tradition in several music genres, Geri Allen has composed work and performances that reflect her dedication the legacy of Pittsburgh jazz legend Mary Lou Williams via ACS (Allen, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington and bassist Esperanza Spaulding).
An advantage of her exploration and scholarship is an appreciation of the intricacies and significance of rhythm and roots of Jazz offers Allen the ability to realize the possibilities and “what ifs” that allow her to reach the links and connect the dots to reveal the contributions of tap.
This will be evident when Allen introduces her Timeline trio this Saturday as Kente Arts Alliance presents the next installment in their mission to showcase indigenous and organic creative expressions of the diaspora.
She is also interested in cultural roots spanning the African diaspora and its influence in music and more specifically, rhythm. “Jazz is an indigenous language that is built on and expressed through the African-American experience,” says Allen. “The drum and the dance have always been at the core of this expression, muses for one another. In Timeline we celebrate this experience on stage.”
Timeline, the trio that will back Allen in her Pittsburgh debut performance as a leader, is Kenny Davis on bass, Kassa Overall on drums and tap dancer Maurice Chestnut. “My music grows out of dance impulses. I was a dancer before I was a pianist,” Allen said. “We find inspiration in the connectedness of the drum and the dance embedded in our cultural history. In Timeline we embrace the joy, energy and the intensity this time-honored experience brings in a contemporary way mixing jazz and hip-hop language.
“Jazz is an indigenous language that is built on and expressed through the African-American experience,” Allen continues. “The drum and dance have always been at the core of this expression, muses for one another; Timeline celebrates this experience on stage.”
Since returning to her alma mater in 2013 Allen continues the work of her mentor, Nathan Davis as the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Pittsburgh was well as her scholarship of the contributions of Pittsburgh’s Mary Lou Williams. She also maintains a touring schedule and continues her exploration of new possibilities in jazz.
To that end the Pitt’s Jazz Studies Program offers a prelude “Jazz is a Language: The Drum and The Dance,” a lecture/clinic with Timeline and saxophonist JD Allen at 4 pm in Bellefield Hall in partnership with the Music Department, Kente Arts Alliance and the Africana Studies on Friday, April 10—a day before the Kelly Strayhorn show.
Kente Arts Alliance presents Geri Allen & Timeline on Saturday, April 11 at 8 p.m., doors open 7:30 p.m. at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave. General admission is $30-$40.
Tickets are available online: www.showclix.com; by phone: 888-718-4253; or these locations: Dorsey’s Records (Homewood), Stedeford’s Record Shop (Northside), Jamil’s Global Village (East Liberty).
(For more information visit www.kentearts.org or call 412-322-0292.)
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