Live at the Village Vanguard is a live album by pianist Geri Allen, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Paul Motian. It was recorded in 1990 at the Village Vanguard and released on the Japanese DIW label.^[1]

Reception

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

AllMusic awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "Live at the Village Vanguard is a good CD musically, but there's not much jump-up factor here -- it's moody and very bluesy in feeling if not actual form, almost like chamber jazz at times. The very compressed, muted recorded sound doesn't alleviate the somber aspect of the listening experience any, but jazz is about capturing the moment. And those were the moments, emotional and musical, caught by these three master musicians on those two December nights".^[2]

The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded the album 4 stars, and wrote: "Live is both accessible and inexhaustible, making its appeal at all sorts of unexpected levels... Even allowing for the head start of Keith Jarrett's 'Standards' trio, this is probably the best piano-led group currently working."^[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Geri Allen except as indicated

"A Prayer for Peace" – 6:32
"Obtuse Angles" – 6:07
"It Should Have Happened a Long Time Ago" (Paul Motian) - 7:11
"For Turiya" (Charlie Haden) - 1:01
"Fiasco" (Motian) - 8:23
"In the Year of the Dragon" (Motian) - 7:41
"Vanguard Blues" (Haden) - 7:43
"Mumbo Jumbo" (Motian) - 9:28
"Song for the Whales" (Haden) - 7:59

Personnel

References

^ Geri Allen catalog, accessed June 30, 2014
^ ^a ^b Snowden, D., Allmusic Review accessed June 30, 2014
^ ^a ^b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1992). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP and Cassette. Penguin Books. p. 20.

v t e 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) A Lovesome Thing (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)

v t e Paul Motian
Albums	Conception Vessel (1972) Tribute (1974) Dance (1977) Le Voyage (1979) Psalm (1981) The Story of Maryam (1983) It Should've Happened a Long Time Ago (1984) Jack of Clubs (1984) Misterioso (1986) One Time Out (1987) Monk in Motian (1988) On Broadway Volume 1 (1988) On Broadway Volume 2 (1989) Bill Evans (1990) Motian in Tokyo (1991) On Broadway Volume 3 (1991) Paul Motian and the Electric Bebop Band (1992) Trioism (1993) Reincarnation of a Love Bird (1994) At the Village Vanguard (1995) Sound of Love (1995) Flight of the Blue Jay (1996) Trio 2000 + One (1997) Play Monk and Powell (1998) Europe (2000) Holiday for Strings (2001) Garden of Eden (2004) I Have the Room Above Her (2004) On Broadway Vol. 4 or The Paradox of Continuity (2005) Live at the Village Vanguard (2006) Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. II (2006) Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. III (2006) Time and Time Again (2006) On Broadway Volume 5 (2008) Lost in a Dream (2009) The Windmills of Your Mind (2010)
Tethered Moon	(Masabumi Kikuchi, Paul Motian and Gary Peacock) First Meeting (1990–91) Tethered Moon Play Kurt Weill (1994) Chansons d'Édith Piaf (1999) Experiencing Tosca (2002)
Trio	(Geri Allen, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian) Etudes (1987) In the Year of the Dragon (1989) Segments (1989) The Montreal Tapes: with Geri Allen and Paul Motian (Haden, 1989) Live at the Village Vanguard (1990)
Discography