Geri Allen Signs With Telarc
August Release First in Six Years
CLEVELAND, Dec. 15, 2003 — Telarc International has announced the signing of an exclusive deal with pianist Geri Allen to be inaugurated with an as yet untitled August 24, 2004, release. Allen's Telarc debut — her first album in six years — will feature new compositions, with veterans Dave Holland on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Elaine Martone will co-produce the recording with Allen at Avatar Studios in New York City in January 2004.
Said Allen, "Telarc represents a spectacular musical legacy. It's a thrill and an honor for me to be a part of the Telarc family, and I'm looking forward to our creative journey together."
One of the most important jazz pianists to emerge from the fertile Detroit music scene, Allen attended the famed Cass Technical High School, where her mentor was trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. After graduating with a degree in jazz studies from Howard University in Washington, D.C., she studied with pianist Kenny Barron in New York, then attended the University of Pittsburgh where she earned a master's degree in ethnomusicology.
In addition to teaching as an Assistant Professor of Music at Howard and garnering such honors as that university's Distinguished Alumni Award, the SESAC Special Achievement Award, and the Eubie Blake Award from the Cultural Crossroads Center in New York, Allen has amassed a stunning resume of musical collaborations. Her colleagues have included modern greats Charles Lloyd (with whom she's been touring for two years), Ornette Coleman, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian and Betty Carter. Allen's excellent musicianship was internationally recognized in 1996 when she was the first woman to win the coveted Danish Jazzpar prize. 
