“One of the most charismatic figures on tour today.” (New York Times)

With a sure and smokey alto, a wide-ranging repertoire from ballad to samba to blues, and a presence that nearly pulls you onstage beside her, Karrin Allyson is a deservedly popular jazz chanteuse—not to be confused with a “jazzy” pop singer. Of her distinctive voice, jazz historian/critic Gary Giddens notes, “she brings a timbre that is part ice and part grain...incisive, original, and emotionally convincing. She can swing, she can scat, she can croon the blues—and she plays one mean piano.” Firmly rooted in the Midwest, Allyson draws a crowd whenever she ventures close to home, including at her last two appearances in Minneapolis at the Dakota. This weekend, Allyson warms Minnesota’s North Shore as headliner at the Grand Marais Jazz Festival Saturday night (click here for more about this festival, April 29-May 1) before heading south to Minneapolis and a two-night stand at the Dakota, May 1-2.

Born in Kansas and raised in Omaha and San Francisco, Karrin Allyson studied classical piano before being turned on to jazz (and the songs of Nancy Wilson, Carmen McRae, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald) as a college student. After graduating from the University of Nebraska with a degree in piano, she spent her early professional career in the Twin Cities (singing at the old Dakota!)and then Kansas City, finally moving to New York City with orchestra conductor husband Bill McGlaughlin three years ago. In addition to her frequent appearances in jazz clubs and festivals around the world, she has appeared at Carnegie Hall (tribute to Ella Fitzgerald), Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, the New York City 92nd St. YMCA, on Public Radio International’s A Prairie Home Companion, and with symphony orchestras around the country, including the new Carnegie Hall concert series at Zankel Hall.

In the past decade, Karrin Allyson has made nine recordings for Concord reflecting classic American jazz roots, as well as French and Brazilian influences. In fact her minor in college was French (her major was music), and her love of both French and Portuguese seeps into her live performances as well as recordings, most notably on From Paris to Rio. Her 2001 CD, Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane, was nominated for a Grammy (best female vocalist). Hot off the press is her tribute to the popular songs of her youth, Wild for You (released by Concord on June 8th). "These are the songs I grew up with," she said, "the songs that made me want to sing in the first place. Before I got into jazz, I studied classical piano. But when I became a teenager, I heard these songs, and they piqued my interest. I got the sheet music and learned to play them and pretty soon thought, 'I'd like to do this for a living.’ ”

Unlike Ballads and the acclaimed follow-up, In Blue, which were recorded with well known New York musicians, Karrin returned to her Kansas City bandmates on Wild for You-- guitarists Danny Embrey and Rod Fleeman, drummer Todd Strait, and pianist Paul Smith (on Fender Rhodes throughout Wild). This is the band with whom she has toured and made her previous recordings. Said Allyson, “This is a personal album: These songs are personal, they're in my history, and these guys are a big part of my history. Plus they're all great players." Also appearing on the new recording is pianist and arranger Gil Goldstein, who worked with Allyson to give each tune its unique form, not too far removed from its original but well into the realm of jazz interpretation.

On her spring tour, Allyson is in the company of long-time collaborators, including the Twin Cities’ own Laura Caviani on piano and Kansas City based-bassist and drummer, Bob Bowman and Todd Strait. Bowman and Strait have been with Allyson more than ten years, since her first recording, so expect the interplay among these musicians to be highly simpatico. A special treat for Minnesota audiences is the appearance of Laura Caviani, one of the area’s most innovative and dexterous improvisers. Another special treat on the Dakota gig will be alto/soprano sax virtuoso Steve Wilson.

“Allyson coolly stakes her claim. She brings a timbre that is part ice and part grain...incisive, original, and emotionally convincing.”—Gary Giddins

>At the Grand Marais Jazz Festival, Karrin Allyson performs Saturday night (April 30) at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts, 7:30-10 pm (Ticket to Brazil opening); www.gmjazzfestival.com. See Karrin Allyson on the Dakota stage in downtown Minneapolis, May 1-2, sets at 7 and 9 pm. And hurry, her early shows all sold out on her last visit. After touring in Australia, Karrin will land in Montreal at Club Soda on May 25th--visit http://www.clubsoda.ca/www.dakotacooks.com

Unless otherwise noted, quotes from published interview with Timothy Finn, Kansas City Star (May 3, 2004).