Geri Allen and Timeline

Pianist Geri Allen is one of the foremost jazz talents to emerge during the 1980s, a formidable stylist and bandleader capable of negotiating the advances of McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock and Cecil Taylor while adding her own particular spin to the mix. Timeline, her latest group, shows she's not mired in the past: In addition to stalwart bassist Kenny Davis, the quartet includes two newcomers, drummer Kassa Overall and tap dancer Maurice Chestnut.