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 Geri Allen “Music at its most evolved transcends language, culture, genre and even time itself.” –Geri Allen
One of the unique and most creative voices of her generation of musicians, pianist Geri Allen will bring her trio into the Village Vanguard for six nights, October 2-7. Her supporting cast includes bassist Kenny Davis and the legendary drummer, Jimmy Cobb.
 Kenny Davis A product of the great jazz tradition of Detroit, Geri Allen studied with Marcus Belgrave, earned a degree in jazz studies at Howard University in Washington, DC (where she met husband, trumpeter Wallace Roney), a master’s degree in ethnomusicology at the University of Pittsburgh, and studied jazz piano in New York with the great Kenny Barron. In the 1980s she was a member of the M-Base Collective; in the early 90s she worked with Ornette Coleman. She has since released a series of acclaimed recordings as leader (including 2004’s Life of a Song with Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, Zodiac Suite Revisited with the Mary Lou Williams Collective, and Timeless Portraits and Dreams) while teaching at Howard University. In 1996 she became the first woman to be awarded the Jazzpar Prize in Denmark, the only international jazz award. As a composer she has received numerous awards and commissions, including the recent “For the Healing of Nations,” commissioned by the Walt Whitman Arts Center and Meet The Composer, a sacred jazz work composed in tribute to the victims and survivors of the 9/11 tragedy that premiered on September 10, 2006.
Chicago native Kenny Davis taught himself to play the bass, studying formally in college and becoming an active part of the Chicago jazz scene. After playing with such Chicago legends as Von Freeman, Ari Brown and Fred Anderson, he moved on to New York and studies with Ron Carter, as well as gigging with Herbie Hancock, Freddy Hubbard, Cassandra Wilson, Abbey Lincoln, Diane Reeves and Art Farmer. Bassist for the Tonight Show Band from 1999-2002, Davis is back in New York, touring, recording and teaching at the University of Connecticut. He earned a Master’s in Music from Rutgers University in 2006.  Jimmy Cobb©Castellano Drummer Jimmy Cobb’s resume is epic, covering the great bands of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley and more. He appeared on Kind of Blue and a long list of Miles’ greatest recordings. His early career included stints with Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Pearl Bailey, Clark Terry, and Dizzy Gillespie. Through the past few decades he has held the drum chair for such artists as Sonny Stitt, Hank Jones, Ron Carter, Dave Holland, Freddie Hubbard, George Coleman and more; and into the 21st century, he leads his own Cobb’s Mob as well as continuing to record and tour internationally.
The Geri Allen Trio will perform at the Village Vanguard (178 Seventh Av, Greenwich Village), sets at 9 and 11 pm; www.villagevanguard.com. More about Geri Allen at http://geriallen.com |