Geri Allen
Some Aspects Of Water

Women and Jazz. A difficult relationship? To this day, female jazz musicians represent a small minority, although those who manage to succeed often become stars of the first magnitude. I think of the great pianist, composer, and bandleader Carla Bley, and the younger Geri Allen, coincidentally also a pianist, composer, and bandleader.

Like many other black jazz musicians of her generation, Allen distinguished herself in the "M-Base" collective led by saxophonist Steve Coleman. The "M-Base" sound was very open to influences from popular black music, from funk to soul to hip-hop, and it met with notable public success, becoming a near trendy phenomenon in the late eighties.

With the change in fashion, the spotlight and attention of the general public shifted elsewhere, but this allowed the young musician to focus more on the research and development of her own personal style, establishing herself as one of the most influential pianists of her generation. Her trio albums feature the most renowned rhythm sections: Paul Motian and Charlie Haden ("In The Year Of The Dragon"), Ron Carter and Tony Williams ("Twenty-One"), Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette ("The Life Of A Song"). Finally, she boasts a collaboration with none other than Ornette Coleman ("Sound Museum").

This 1996 album, recorded following her win of the JazzPar Prize, awarded to her in Denmark, sees the pianist playing live in different contexts, starting with a trio with Palle Danielsson on bass and drummer Lenny White, then adding Johnny Coles's flugelhorn in the track "Old Folks." Lastly, the two long, remarkable suites "Smooth Attitudes" and "Some Aspects Of Water," created in a nonet with the help of brilliant local musicians.

Lenny White, in the past an unstoppable percussive force in the fusion groups of Chick Corea and Jaco Pastorius, remembers to be also a refined mainstream drummer. Palle Danielsson is a highly sought after and well-tested bassist, it's no wonder the trio, right from the first notes of the initial "Feed The Fire," marches like a train...

The recording captures all the warmth of the live performance, with Allen's sultry voice introducing the tracks and presenting her partners, and the audience not sparing enthusiastic applause. Never more than live, Geri exhibits a beautiful sound and an impressive command of her means. A virtuosity constantly kept under control by a firm stylistic organization and a deep knowledge of her guiding spirits, from Bud Powell to Herbie Hancock, passing through Bill Evans.

The long, seductive, and multifaceted suite "Some Aspects Of Water" makes us understand how much the award to the composer is well deserved. Allen establishes an equal dialogue with the nonet, alternating the orchestral blends of the winds with very intense solo moments, sometimes lyrical, sometimes strongly rhythmic. Often, it feels like the Detroit pianist travels multiple times, back and forth, through the entire history of African-American music, multiplying citations and tributes to the greats of the past. And performing the miracle, undoubtedly attributable to her great sensitivity, of making everything happen spontaneously and naturally.

Grand finale again in trio, with the fabulous "Skin". Oscillating between Keith Jarrett and Ornette Coleman, she plays with the free and brushes against it continuously, while remaining anchored to a recognizable structure, and lets her inexhaustible improvisational imagination run wild, without losing even the most distracted among her listeners: nine minutes fly by in the blink of an eye.

It won't be easy to find this album, but I'm sure such a challenge is absolutely within the reach of the average debaser. Look for it, it's worth it.