Geri Allen grew up in Detroit and had decided on becoming a jazz pianist already by her teens. She studied at Howard University and completed a masters in ethnomusicology in Pittsburgh. Later she became involved with the M-Base collective in New York and played in various groups as leader, co-leader and sidewoman. She recorded two albums with Ornette Coleman, as well as several as a leader for Blue Note, Verve, DIW among others, blending tradition, experimentation and a certain afrocentric exploration with style and panache.