Pitt Jazz Seminar and Concert

Geri Allen

Feed the Fire: A Cyber Symposium in Honor of Geri Allen hosted by the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University

9:30am EST to 5:30pm EST

This all-day conference will bring together internationally renowned scholars and performers to discuss Allen's legacy as an artist and educator. The event will coincide with the release of a special issue of Pitt's journal Jazz and Culture, focusing entirely on Allen, slated to be published this fall. A final keynote presentation will feature Angela Davis, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Gina Dent. 

Click Here to access symposium website. Registration is required. 

9:30 – 9:45 am Opening Remarks
Farah Jasmine Griffin (Columbia University) & Nicole Mitchell Gantt (University of Pittsburgh)

9:45 am – 12:30 pm The Power of Geri Allen
Moderator: Michael Heller (University of Pittsburgh)

9:45-10:00 am Opening remarks and Allen’s M.A. Thesis on Eric Dolphy 
Michael Heller

10:00-10:15 am  Geri Allen and “The Whole Feeling of the Connection”
Ellie M. Hisama (Columbia University)

10:15-10:30 am The Deft, Quiet Shout of Her Hands: Geri Allen’s Speculative Musicalities
Vijay Iyer (Harvard University)

10:30-10:45 am Searching for a New Place: Exploratory Process in Geri Allen’s Compositions and Performances
Yoko Suzuki (University of Pittsburgh)

10:45-11:00 am Break

11-11:15 am Geri Allen’s Sacred Works: More than the Music
Dwight Andrews (Emory University)

11:15-11:30 Home Grown: Geri Allen's Detroit as a Gateway to Jazz
Veronica Johnson (Detroit Sound Conservancy)

11:30-11:45 Response
Sherrie Tucker (University of Kansas)

11:45-12:30 pm Q&A/Discussion

12:30-1:00 pm Break

1:00-2:30 pm Flying Toward the Sound: Geri Allen’s Work in Telematics
Moderator: Aaron J. Johnson (University of Pittsburgh)

Mount Allen III (SFJAZZ)
Michael Dessen (University of California at Irvine)
George E. Lewis (Columbia University)
Nicole Mitchell Gantt (University of Pittsburgh)
Francis Wong (Asian Improv Arts)

2:30-3:15 pm Some Aspects of Water: Reflections on Geri Allen’s Legacy
Moderator: Robert O’Meally (Columbia University)

The Power of Representation
Courtney Bryan (Tulane University)

Message to Love: Geri Allen, Jimi Hendrix, and Love in a Time of Social Distancing
Kevin Fellezs (Columbia University)

3:15-3:30 pm Break

3:30-5:30 pm Geri Allen: Feed the Fire (Keynote Session)
Moderator: Farah Jasmine Griffin (Columbia University)

3:30-3:45 pm Poetry reading
Fred Moten (New York University / Tisch School of the Arts) 

3:45-5:00 pm Remembering Geri Allen
Moderator: Farah Jasmine Griffin (Columbia University)

Terri Lyne Carrington (Berklee College of Music)
Angela Davis (University of California at Santa Cruz)
Gina Dent (University of California at Santa Cruz)

5:00-5:20 pm Keynote performance
Courtney Bryan

5:20-5:30 pm Closing remarks
Robert O’Meally