Geri Allen Trio

Her major trio partners included Charlie Haden and Paul Motian, as well as Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. Her debut album The Printmakers instead featured Anthony Cox and Andrew Cyrille.

Etudes is a central example of that trio's interplay. Allen, Haden and Motian also recorded In the Year of the Dragon and Segments around the same period.

The 2004 album centers on Allen with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Most tracks are trio performances, although selected guests expand one piece to a larger ensemble.

Allen came from Detroit's jazz tradition but worked with exploratory musicians such as Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden and Andrew Cyrille. Her writing combines post-bop structure, rhythmic displacement and freer collective improvisation.