GERI ALLEN : Gifted Pianist Draws on Past for Growth

Normally you’d expect a pianist to name another pianist in citing his or her primary influence.

But Geri Allen, described by bassist Charlie Haden as one of the most original pianists to enter jazz in the last 20 years, cites a trumpeter, a drummer and a saxophonist.

“I was raised in Detroit, where I went to Cass Technical High School,” she said, detailing her novel path. “My mentor there was the trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, who had a group called the Jazz Development Workshop. Under his guidance, I learned about all the great traditions, from Duke Ellington onward.

“Later I enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where a master drummer from Ghana got me interested in the ethnomusicology of African-based culture. I earned my BA in jazz studies from Howard, then went to the University of Pittsburgh, where the great saxophonist and composer Nathan Davis was teaching. In fact, when I received my master’s in ethnomusicology, the subject of my master’s thesis was (saxophonist) Eric Dolphy.”

After arriving in New York in 1982, Allen studied piano with Kenny Barron under a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Soon after, she landed a record date with saxophonist Oliver Lake’s quasi-reggae-funk band, Jump Up, and became a founding member of the progressive and eclectic M-Base Collective of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Allen, who has recorded with such top figures as Haden, Wayne Shorter and James Newton, is typical of a young generation of musicians who ignore musical boundaries. She draws on a richly diverse aesthetic that takes in traditional jazz, gospel, folk, funk, free jazz and African influences.

Her latest, “The Nurturer,” on Blue Note Records, is a compelling example of Allen’s multifaceted gifts. She is involved in a variety of musical situations, from solo performances to appearances with duos, trios and quartets, but she says she’s concentrating on composing.

Eager to share her knowledge, Allen teaches part time at Boston’s New England Conservatory. What she can offer students is just what her own teachers gave her: an awareness that to play a vital role in today’s music, one must look back and study the origins of the art form while moving forward into challenging new territories. This is the open secret of the growth process, and Allen understands it well.