7:30 pm Saturday, October 23, 2010 I attending this masterful performance.
BCKGRD
Playing on two facing Steinway Grand pianos, Kennedy Center favorite Geri Allen shared the stage with R&B hitmaker Patrice Rushen ("Forget Me Nots"). They were joined by in-demand drummer Terri Lyne Carrington for a unique evening of music.
A jazz pianist, composer and arranger, Allen was a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship Award for Music Composition in 2008 and the Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award in 2010. The New York Times hails the Howard University alum as "a jazz pianist who dares to follow an unmarked road."
Multi-Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, composer and pianist Patrice Rushen (returning to the Center for the first time since 1996) has been praised for playing that is "stunning" and "consistently powerful" (Los Angeles Times).
World-renowned drummer/composer/producer Terri Lyne Carrington's ongoing appearances at the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival and music direction for the all-star concert Billie & Me have also secured her place as a Kennedy Center favorite.