Born in Great Bend, KS, she has lived in California and attended school in Nebraska. She is now based in New York City because of the Jazz scene but claims to love rural life. She launched her career in Kansas City at the Pheonix (!!!).
Graduate of the University of Nebraska in 1987 with a major in Classical Piano and a minor in French
Has an accompaniment trio
Alto
Singer, songwriter, pianist, composer and bandleader
She’s been doing so just
about everywhere jazz can be heard or seen since
1992.
Borrowed funds from her family to assemble her Kansas City-based rhythm
Recorded a series of eleven CDs for Concord Records
French and Brazilian music in English, Portuguese,French, Italian and Spanish
Allyson spends two days out of three on the road, playing the major jazz festivals and clubs of the U.S. and making repeated tours overseas.
Had her own all-girl band called, Tomboy
The three times, Grammy-nominated singer and pianist, plus her trio birthed her career in KC. Her work ranges from blues to ballads & bossa nova. She looks up and has been likened to Norma Granz, Joni Mitchell and Carol King
She has a convincing style, and firing scat vocals back and forth as a counterpoint to Geils' blues guitar. She likes to widen her audience by studying multilingual lyrics and including them in her repertoire.
Descriptive Words:
Sultry
Smokey
Otherworldly
Imaginative—dreamy
Personal
Tender yet tough
Versatile
Authoritative
Honest
Thoughtful musicality
Fearless
heart, intelligence, and musical
sophistication
Innocent, sexy and world weary
“She blends grit and folk wisdom into the
sophistication of her blues singing and piano playing.”
“A wonderful, enthusiastic woman.”
Quotes:
“I wanted folks to get these songs no matter what language they speak…”
“If you are not swept away by Karrin Allyson’s recording of “Imagina,” you had better check for a heartbeat.”
Imagina: Songs of Brasil, = “I hope that these songs speak
directly to your heart, as they have to mine.”
“She brings a timbre that is part ice and part grain...incisive, original, and
emotionally convincing.”
“Stunning debut! Irresistible twists of melody and inflection,” wrote veteran jazz critic Neil (seductive?)
Tesser in Playboy Magazine
“Allyson coolly stakes
her claim.”
“She’s such an otherworldly
talent that the creator probably already has her on heavy rotation.”
Choice Lyrics:
Happiness is like a little feather
Happiness is just a drop of dew that’s nestled in the petals of a flower
Every mornin' finds me moanin'
I'm alone and crying the blues
I'm so tired of paying my dues
Ev'ry body knows I'm moanin'
Too young so he tells me
He says we’ll have to wait
Why wait, until it may be
Her Written Lyrics:
This is the kind of thing I love to do
So if you say you really want me to
I’ll play for you
I used to dream of jazz all night
So if you ask me nice well I just might
Jazz is a way to work out your cares and woes
If you close your eyes you will soon realize
And so my friend now you can plainly see
This is the kind of thing that is for me
Well I don’t have to call betty crocker
I don’t have to call sara lee
This man has done his homework
Makes up his own recipe
Sweet Home cookin’
Negatives:
Allyson's alto voice doesn't have a particularly wide range. Curiously, neither did she venture much beyond the middle range of the piano.
Questions To Ask:
1. Why are the members of her accompaniment not recognized?
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