Customer Reviews

Geri Allen and Timeline Live

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A fine jazz trio album -- as always delivered by Geri Allen. And while the addition of tap does at times provide an interesting element of percussion, it is frustrating that the visual element of the performance is missing, especially when the audience breaks into enthusiastic applause and sometimes you are left wondering "wha' happened?" This really should have been a concert DVD, and it's too bad if market considerations prevented it.

I've been a Geri Allen fan ever since Twylight came out about 20 years ago. Besides her own trio, I've seen her perform with Betty Carter, Ornette Coleman and Charles Lloyd..pretty heavy duty company. On her new cd, recorded live, Geri adds a tap dancer as additional ryhthm/percussion. It works pretty well, although it would be even better if the show was on a DVD as the visual aspect of tap dancing is a big part of enjoying that art.

Music is weird how it connects directly with your being, and how it lifts up lots of associative images and feelings and thoughts and history, personal history as well. I love the first encounter too and with this program by Ms Allen, the first associations for me were Mozart (for joy), Ellington (for Bojangles), Brubeck (for the excitement of a college audience - eg, his album Jazz Goes to College (Columbia) but any one of a number including Oberlin), the legacy of the music (Holiday - embraceable you, Parker - that broken solo on Loverman when he was recovering), and Cecil Taylor (in acknowledgement of the importance of the percussive power of the piano but also the great contribution that rhythm has made to the evolution of the greatest creative music on the planet - America's classical music of the 20th century and beyond. Yes, I'm gushing, but refute it if you will.)

But now to business: a. this album is very well recorded by Paul Eachus and I have played it on a $100,000 high fidelity system. b. the program is well balanced sequentially as well as in choice of material between originals (4) and classics (5) and between the exploration of ballads and the exhilaration of faster works.
c. the musicians shine with energy, skill, and artistry and a clear love of what they are doing.
d. Maurice Chestnut contributes to the music in the way, eg Fred Astaire did with Oscar Peterson.
e. It is one of Ms Allen's finest straight ahead jazz albums.
f. Complement this by getting Flying Toward the Sound, an album of piano music, a suite, of
some of the finest piano by a great pianist irrespective of genre.

This live album takes jazz to a whole new level! By integrating tap, Geri Allen and her band elevate the music to even greater and more interesting heights. The musicians/artists are completely in sync and the result is just wonderful!
Buy this album today!

This record is unique, very creative, and a live performance that deserves some type of award. Even though many of the creative jazz albums try to remove all melody and ignore the jazz legacy; this album is unique while following the great legacy. The tap dancing is indeed a great idea, and while I have really enjoyed Geri Allen's performance, the percussion is definitely what I find most outstanding. In this case, I visualize the percussion as the drums and the tap dancing. Anyway, this is a unique remarkable album, without ignoring the jazz tradition