Open on All Sides in the Middle

Open on All Sides in the Middle
Open on All Sides in the Middle
Studio album by Geri Allen
Released	1987
Recorded	December 1986; Sound Suite Recording Studio, Detroit
Genre	Jazz
Length	43:47
Label	Minor Music MM 1013
Producer	Geri Allen
Geri Allen chronology

Open on All Sides in the Middle is an album by pianist Geri Allen recorded in late 1986 and released on the German Minor Music label.^[1]

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	^[3]

Allmusic reviewer Scott Yanow stated: "the material is comparatively lightweight for a Geri Allen recording, often only bordering on jazz".^[2] The Penguin Guide to Jazz described the album as an attempt to create "some new kind of song-based jazz", but labelled it "dire".^[3]

Track listing[]

All compositions by Geri Allen

"Open on All Sides / The Glide Was in the Ride..." - 6:45
"Forbidden Place" - 4:24
"The Dancer" - 2:33
"In the Middle" - 4:01
"Ray" - 4:17
"I Sang a Bright Green Tear for All of Us This Year..." - 12:46
"Drummer's Song" - 2:24
"In the Morning" - 5:03
"The Dancer Part 2" 1:34

Personnel[]

Geri Allen - piano, keyboards, backing vocals
Rayse Biggs - trumpet, flugelhorn
Robin Eubanks - trombone
David McMurray - soprano saxophone, flute
Steve Coleman - alto saxophone
Jaribu Shahid - bass
Tani Tabbal - drums
Shahida Nurullah - lead vocals
Marcus Belgrave - flugelhorn (track 8)
Mino Cinelu - cymbals, bells, congas, timbales, electronic drums, udu
Lloyd Storey - tap dance

References[]

^ Geri Allen catalog, accessed June 30, 2014
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Yanow, S., Allmusic Review, accessed July 3, 2014.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

[1] Geri Allen catalog, accessed June 30, 2014

[Allmusic-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b Yanow, S., Allmusic Review, accessed July 3, 2014.

[Penguin9-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

show v t Geri Allen
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, except where noted.
Albums as leader or co-leader	The Printmakers (1984) Home Grown (1985) Open on All Sides in the Middle (1986) In the Year of the Dragon (1989) Segments (1989) Twylight (1989) Live at the Village Vanguard (1990) The Nurturer (1990) Maroons (1992) Twenty One (1994) Eyes in the Back of Your Head (1995–96) Some Aspects of Water (1996) The Gathering (1998) The Life of a Song (2004) Timeless Portraits and Dreams (2006) Flying Toward the Sound (2008) Geri Allen & Timeline Live (2009) A Child Is Born (2011) Grand River Crossings (2012)
With Oliver Lake	Expandable Language (1984) Otherside (1988) Talkin' Stick (1997) At This Time (2008)
With others	Movies (Franco Ambrosetti, 1986) Movies Too (Franco Ambrosetti, 1988) The Collective (Cecil Brooks III, 1989) Duet in Detroit (Roy Brooks, 1989) Droppin' Things (Betty Carter, 1990) Feed the Fire (Betty Carter, 1993) Sound Museum: Hidden Man (Ornette Coleman, 1996) Sound Museum: Three Women (Ornette Coleman, 1996) Motherland Pulse (Steve Coleman, 1985) Flute Talk (Buddy Collette, 1988) Etudes (Charlie Haden, 1987) The Montreal Tapes: with Geri Allen and Paul Motian (Charlie Haden, 1989) The Montreal Tapes: Liberation Music Orchestra (Charlie Haden, 1989) Reflections in Change (Craig Handy, 1999) Lift Every Voice (Charles Lloyd, 2002) Jumping the Creek (Charles Lloyd, 2004) Decision in Paradise (Frank Lowe, 1984) Monk in Motian (Paul Motian, 1988) Mindgames (Greg Osby, 1988) Living on the Edge (Dewey Redman, 1989) Crunchin' (Wallace Roney, 1993) Munchin' (Wallace Roney, 1993) Bemsha Swing (Woody Shaw, 1986) By Any Means Necessary (Gary Thomas, 1989)