Skip to page content

Karrin Allyson

About this Artist

Grammy-nominated singer KARRIN ALLYSON has been gathering fans worldwide since 1992. That was the year the classically trained musician assembled her Kansas City-based rhythm section, borrowed funds from her family, and headed into the studio to record I Didn’t Know About You. Its immediate critical accolades placed the young singer in the company of legends Ella Fitzgerald and Shirley Horn.

Allyson has recorded nine CDs for Concord Records, each of which have showcased her astonishing breadth of repertoire, from standards by Gershwin and Porter to Brazilian bossa nova to samba and Thelonious Monk. Her most recent recordings include Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane (2001), In Blue (2002), and Wild for You (2004).

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. In February 2004, she toured Australia for the first time. This summer, she embarks on yet another tour of Europe, South America, and the Far East.

As well as traditional jazz venues, Allyson has appeared at Carnegie Hall as part of a special tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, and at the 92nd St. YMCA in New York City. She has been a popular and welcomed guest of Garrison Keillor on A Prairie Home Companion. Allyson and her band have performed with symphony orchestras around the country, including the new Carnegie Hall concert series at Zankel Hall.