A Lovesome Thing (Live At The Philharmonie de Paris) Geri Allen & Kurt Rosenwinkel

• 1 A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing 10:18
• 2 Embraceable You 11:46
• 3 Introductions (Geri Allen) 01:13
• 4 Simple #2 07:52
• 5 Ruby My Dear 11:20
• 6 Introductions (Kurt Rosenwinkel) 00:10
• 7 Open-Handed Reach 09:55
• 8 End of Show (Audience) 00:26
• Total Runtime 53:00

Info for A Lovesome Thing (Live At The Philharmonie de Paris)

“Geri Allen and Kurt Rosenwinkel are beautifully compatible. Their sound and musicality are a perfect fit on this gem recording. So happy it is finally being shared with the world! I always felt that Geri’s chordal motion was very guitar-oriented, so the simpatico between them is no surprise.” (Terri Lyne Carrington)

Motéma Music, in harmonious collaboration with Kurt Rosenwinkel’s Heartcore Records, looks forward to joyfully unveiling to the world a musical treasure that has been hidden in the vaults of Cite de La Musique in Paris since 2012. The delicate masterwork, A Lovesome Thing allows the magical synergy between the late and legendary pianist Geri Allen and the innovative and very much in-demand guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel to be heard for the first time on record. For friends and fans of Geri Allen, who were heartbroken by her untimely death in 2017, this release offers a blessed opportunity to hear her voice (both musically and literally) once again and to experience a magical evening of music that was especially important to her.

Terri Lyne Carrington, one of Allen’s closest collaborators notes, “This is an important album in the rich legacy of Geri Allen recordings, and I believe the fans of Kurt Rosenwinkel will be quite delighted as well!” “Everybody wanted to play with Geri Allen –” began Allen Morrison’s July 2022 Downbeat feature, inducting her into the Downbeat Hall of Fame. “…Ornette Coleman, Betty Carter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, Esperanza Spalding, David Murray, Terri Lyne Carrington, and on and on.” Add to that list the great Kurt Rosenwinkel, who invited her to sit in with his band at the Jazz Standard in July of 2012. The simpatico was strong. “Geri was so impressed with the flow and the freedom of the music she experienced during that one night that she urged me to arrange another performance with Kurt as soon as possible,” explains Ora Harris, Geri’s long-time manager. “So Anders Chan-Tidemann, Kurt Rosenwinkel’s manager at the time, and I put our heads together and were able to book a duo date for Geri and Kurt to perform later that year at the Jazz à la Villette festival in Paris.“ The concert took place on Sept 5th, 2012 before a packed and hugely appreciative audience at the famed Philharmonie de Paris, a stunningly beautiful hall with world-renowned acoustics.

Allen and Rosenwinkel flew in that night from separate cities. There was no rehearsal. Yet in a mesmerizing display of improvised musical telepathy, they wove a harmonious tapestry, enthralling their listeners with layers upon layers of ambiguous yet mystically elegant and expansive expressions. The tones of the guitar and piano merged and re-emerged in a dense and majestic field where musical ideas budded, blossomed, turn to seed, and sprouted anew as the artists thoroughly re-imagined Strayhorn, Gershwin, and Monk and each revealed two delightful and never-before-recorded originals. As their instruments became extensions of their beings, notes flew between them as if an unseen hand was directing this intimate conversation between maestros. It was soul-stirring, and lovesome.

“There was a strong bond between Geri and myself: a beautiful internal smile, a deep respect.” Rosenwinkel relates. “I am so grateful we had the opportunity to work together. We talked through the years about projects we wanted to do, songs we wanted to play, but alas, we only had the chance to play a few times. This concert was the first and only time we played duo together. There was no rehearsal.”

The artists were so caught up in their musical collaboration that night that they mutually vowed to memorialize their creative bond in the studio soon. “Geri spoke often to me of her desire to record with Kurt,” says Motéma founder and director Jana Herzen. “And it was an idea I was keen to pursue.” Fate, however, had other plans, and the dream of a studio date died along with Geri when she succumbed to complications related to cancer in 2017.

She was just sixty. Her death shocked the jazz community. Messages of respect and love poured in from the far corners of the jazz world evidencing Allen’s quiet, yet totally pervasive influence on contemporary jazz. “In this music, there was before Geri Allen and after Geri Allen. She’s that important,” wrote pianist Ethan Iverson. “She truly has had a great influence on my style and approach to music thanks to her innate genius,” wrote Herbie Hancock. “Her spirit and legacy will live on forever,” said McCoy Tyner, who Allen herself had tribute with her solo masterwork “‘Flying Toward The Sound,” which marked her 2010 Motéma debut.

In his album note, Rosenwinkel comments that “Geri was a powerful force: a master musician and a true Magician. I felt a connection with her – the level of interaction with the subtle planes, the inner lives of spirit and contact with the universe. We felt it in the music, something magical happening, and I believe you can hear it in this recording,” Indeed we can hear it. The guitarist proved to be a perfect musical soulmate for the soft-spoken Allen, whose sensitivity was as legendary as her playing. If she were here, she would surely endorse Rosenwinkel in equally glowing terms, as did the New York Times, which commented, “Kurt Rosenwinkel can say more in a few lines (of music) than most guitarists manage over the course of an entire career.”

Motéma’s founder and president, Jana Herzen, who oversaw the release of four prior acclaimed Allen albums, worked in loving detail with Rosenwinkel as well as with illustrator Jenya Hitz, mastering engineer Alan Sliverman, and Motéma’s long-time graphic artist Rebecca Meek to create the Lovesome package. For those who revere the legacy of Geri Allen, admire the virtuosity of Kurt Rosenwinkel, or simply appreciate the enchanting allure of piano and guitar jazz, this album serves as a portal to an ephemeral moment when music transcended the mundane and reached the sublime.

The release of A Lovesome Thing finds Rosenwinkel in a watershed moment as he tours to support the four Heartcore albums that he’s released since January of 2022: Undercover, Berlin Baritone, The Chopin Project, and Kurt Rosenwinkel Plays Piano. Happily, he will be joining Motéma in Paris on as part of a three-night celebration of the label’s 20th Anniversary releases to take place at the Sunset/Sunside Club in Paris on November 2–4. On Nov 2 & 3, the Afro/jazz/flamenco trio Flamenkora and Mongolian piano sensation Shuteen Erdenebaatar (with her Quartet) will celebrate their debut recordings, and then on November 4, Rosenwinkel will close out the celebration with music from A Lovesome Thing performed with pianist Gerald Clayton who previously worked under Allen’s wing in her ‘Errol Garner, Concert by the Sea’ project.

Geri Allen, piano
Kurt Rosenwinkel, guitar

Geri Allen
Pianist, composer, Guggenheim Fellow, and educator Geri Allen died on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 from complications of cancer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She had recently celebrated her 60th birthday.

Hailed as one of the most accomplished pianists and educators of her time, Allen’s most recent position was as Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She was especially proud of performing with renowned pianist McCoy Tyner for the last two years, and was also part of two recent groundbreaking trios: ACS (Geri Allen, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Esperanza Spalding) and the MAC Power Trio with David Murray and Carrington – their debut recording Perfection was released on Motéma Music in 2016 to critical acclaim.

“The jazz community will never be the same with the loss of one of our geniuses, Geri Allen. Her virtuosity and musicality are unparalleled,” expressed Carrington upon learning of her passing. “I will miss my sister and friend, but I am thankful for all of the music she made and all of the incredible experiences we had together for over 35 years. She is a true original – a one of kind – never to be forgotten. My heart mourns, but my spirit is filled with the gift of having known and learned from Geri Allen.“

She was the first woman and youngest person to receive the Danish Jazzpar Prize, and was the first recipient of the Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Jazz. In 2011, she was nominated for an NAACP Award for Timeline, her Tap Quartet project. Over the last few years, Allen served as the program director of NJPAC’s All-Female Jazz Residency, which offered a weeklong one-of-a-kind opportunity for young women, ages 14-25, to study jazz.

Allen was also recently honored to be one of the producers of the expanded and re-mastered recording of Erroll Garner’s The Complete Concert by the Sea, which garnered her an Essence Image Award nomination as well as a GRAMMY® Award-nomination in 2016. She felt strongly that students should have access to this material, and went on to organize a 60th anniversary performance of the material at the 2015 Monterey Jazz Festival with Jason Moran and Christian Sands.

Having grown up in Detroit, a region known for its rich musical history, Allen’s affinity for jazz stemmed from her father’s passion for the music. She began taking lessons at 7-years-old, and started her early music education under the mentorship of trumpeter Marcus Belgrave at the Cass Technical High School. In 1979, she was one of the first to graduate from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in jazz studies. It was there that she began to embrace music from all cultures that would ultimately influence her work. During that time, she studied with the great Kenny Barron in New York City.

“I first met Geri when she was a student at Howard. She would take the train up to my house in Brooklyn for lessons. Even then it was apparent that Geri heard some things musically that others did not,” Barron reflects. “In 1994 we performed a duo piano concert at the Caramoor Festival in New York and I realized how fearless she was and at the same time how focused she was. It was a lesson that I took to heart. Geri is not only a great musician, composer and pianist, she is a giant and will be sorely missed.”

In New York, Allen met Nathan Davis, a respected educator who encouraged her to attend the University of Pittsburgh where he served as Director for their Jazz Studies department. She followed his advice and earned her Masters Degree in Ethnomusicology in 1982. In 2013, she became their Director of Jazz Studies upon Davis’ retirement.

While at UPITT, Allen’s commitment to community outreach and bridging educational inequities manifested through her pioneering engagement on the research education network of Internet2 and CENIC, where she connected virtually to universities and cultural institutions across the country, collaborating with artists and technologists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Chris Chafe, George Lewis, Michael Dressen, Jason Moran, Vijay Iyer and the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars.

She was also the musical director of the Mary Lou Williams Collective, recording and performing the music of the great Mary Lou Williams, including her sacred work Mass For Peace. Allen also collaborated with S. Epatha Merkerson and Farah Jasmine Griffin on two music theatre projects: “Great Apollo Women,” which premiered at the legendary Apollo Theatre, and “A Conversation with Mary Lou,” which premiered at the Harlem Stage as an educational component for the Harlem Stage collaboration. The University of Pittsburgh hosted the first ever Mary Lou Williams Cyber Symposium where Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran, and Allen performed a three piano improvisation from Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pittsburgh in real time using Internet2 technology.

Allen was a recent recipient of the Howard University Pinnacle Award presented by Professor Connaitre Miller and Afro Blue. She has served as a faculty member at Howard University, the New England Conservatory, and the University of Michigan where she taught for ten years. In 2014, Allen was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Music Degree by Berklee College of Music in Boston. The Honorable Congressman John Conyers Jr. presented the 2014 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Jazz Legacy Award to Allen.

In 1985, Allen released The Printmakers – her debut release as a leader, and one of the hundreds of releases that encompasses her boisterous discography. In 1990, she signed to Blue Note Records and released The Nurturer with mentor Marcus Belgrave, Kenny Garrett, Robert Hurst, Jeff “Tain” Watts and Eli Fountain. This release showcased a more conventional playing style while still maintaining the freedom of improvisation and expression that was so present at the start of her career.

Throughout the late ‘90s and early 2000s, Allen continued to be a pioneer for the genre both as a side-woman and as a leader. Her improvisational virtuosity was displayed on Ornette Coleman’s 1996 release of Sound Museum, her 1988 release The Gathering, and again in 2004 with The Life a Song featuring Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. In 2010 her solo piano album, Flying Towards the Sound was critically acclaimed and was rated “Best of 2010” on NPR and DownBeat magazine’s Critics Polls.

Allen’s commissioned work “For the Healing of the Nations” in 2006 was written to pay tribute to the victims, survivors, and family members of the September 11th attacks. This special tribute was performed by the Howard University’s Afro Blue Jazz Choir and included performances from jazz musicians such as Oliver Lake, Craig Harris, Andy Bey, among others. It was also around this time that Allen had been awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship honoring her prolific role in furthering this creative art form. This allowed her to release the compositions “Refractions” and “Flying Towards the Sound,” as well as three short films under the Motéma Music label.

In 2008, Allen received the African American Classical Music Award from the Women of the New Jersey chapter of Spelman College as well as “A Salute to African-American Women: Phenomenal Woman” from the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Epsilon chapter at the University of Michigan. Allen also performed in a theatrical and musical celebration honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the statue unveiling in Washington, DC.

In a career that spanned more than 35 years, she recorded, performed and collaborated with some of the most important artists of our time including Ornette Coleman, Ravi Coltrane, George Shirley, Dewey Redman, Jimmy Cobb, Sandra Turner-Barnes, Charles Lloyd, Marcus Belgrave, Betty Carter, Jason Moran, Lizz Wright, Marian McPartland, Roy Brooks, Vijay Iyer, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, Laurie Anderson, Terri Lynn Carrington, Esperanza Spalding, Hal Willner, Ron Carter, Tony Williams, Dianne Reeves, Joe Lovano, Dr. Billy Taylor, Carrie Mae Weems, Angélique Kidjo, Mary Wilson and The Supremes, Howard University’s Afro-Blue and many others.

Allen contributed some of the most groundbreaking and forward thinking music of the time. The remarkable pianist leaves behind a wealth of material that will educate future generations of musicians. A mother of three, she credited her family for making it possible for her to maintain such a successful and fruitful career. She was a cutting edge performing artist, and continued to entertain internationally up until her death.

Geri Allen is survived by her father Mount Vernell Allen, Jr., brother Mount Vernell Allen III, and three children: Laila, Wally, and Barbara Antoinette. Funeral arrangements and a memorial service are pending.

Kurt Rosenwinkel
American composer, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and producer Kurt Rosenwinkel is one of the most celebrated musical voices in jazz and is widely renowned as one of the most distinctive and gifted guitarists to have ever played the instrument.

Rosenwinkel’s harmonically rich, rhythmically free, and incomparably fluid style has made him one of the most important jazz musicians to emerge in the last thirty years, and his groundbreaking sonic conception of the guitar has changed the way the instrument has been perceived and played ever since. His recordings as a bandleader in early aughts on Verve Records were strikingly original releases that reshaped contemporary jazz in the 21st century. The Enemies of Energy (2000), The Next Step (2001), Heartcore (2003) and Deep Song (2005), would redefine the sound of jazz for a new era, deftly fusing jazz’s deep acoustic traditions with electronics, digital manipulation, programmed beats, and utterly modern harmonic and compositional structures that even today we can still only reference as ‘Rosenwinkelian’.

He continues this freethinking experimentalism with albums like Our Secret World (2010), in collaboration with the Orchestra de Jazz Matosinhos, the “contemporary classic” (Kelman, All About Jazz) Star of Jupiter (2012), and Caipi (2017), a Brazilian influenced album with Rosenwinkel taking on most of the instrumental and vocal duties.

He continues to reinvent jazz standards on Reflections (2008) and Angels Around (2020). Rosenwinkel’s most recent releases include Kurt Rosenwinkel Plays Piano (2021), an album of solo piano pieces that offers an intimate look at Rosenwinkel’s relationship to the piano and how it formed his compositional mind, and a collaboration with pianist Jean-Paul Brodbeck entitled The Chopin Project (2022) which finds him reimagining Chopin compositions with Brodbeck in a jazz context. His latest upcoming album, Berlin Baritone is a solo improvisational album on baritone guitar, and a uniquely intimate release, where listeners get to hear Rosenwinkel discover the timbral world of his newfound instrument with reverence and curiosity. Rosenwinkel’s prolific output has always retained his unique voice, and each release is a constellation in his singular musical universe, always expanding outwards, to reach for the next beautiful sound.

In addition to his genre-defining work as a bandleader, Rosenwinkel is also an accomplished sideman, with over 150 credits to his name. His first exposure to international touring was with Gary Burton, the legendary vibraphonist who hired him out of Berklee College in 1992. That same year he joined Paul Motian’s Electric Bebop Band, and entered into a decade-long musical relationship with the drummer that helped usher in a new era in Motian’s already illustrious career.

These collaborative relationships, along with tours as Joe Henderson’s guitarist in 1997 established Rosenwinkel early in his career as a player who had the blessing of giants of the jazz world. His work with Brian Blade Fellowship, Mark Turner, Joshua Redman, Seamus Blake, Donald Fagen, and hosts of other jazz luminaries further cemented his star power.

Rosenwinkel’s success has also extended far beyond the world of jazz. He has been a member of the Crossroads Guitar Festival family since 2013, when he was personally invited by blues and rock legend Eric Clapton to perform and share the stage with him. The iconic guitarist who called Rosenwinkel “a genius” also featured on Rosenwinkel’s Caipi (2017), playing on the song “Little Dream”. Rosenwinkel’s collaboration with Q-Tip on The Renaissance (2008) and Kamaal the Abstract (2009) showed that Rosenwinkel’s playing had breadth that extended comfortably into hip-hop that has led to performances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with The Roots, and a collaboration with internet sensations DOMi and JD BECK.

In the winter of 2016, Rosenwinkel formed the independent music label Heartcore Records with the focused intention of signing and promoting a new generation of musicians whose exacting standards and creative passions equal his own. Over the last few years Heartcore has released a series of online masterclasses taught by Rosenwinkel that leads viewers through deep theoretical, compositional, and technical explorations of musical topics with humor and approachability. Heartcore Records has also allowed Rosenwinkel to flourish in another dimension of his ever-evolving musical practice as a record producer of other artists, while still consistently putting out his own music that blazes new pathways in the annals of modern jazz.

This album contains no booklet.