Karrin's RoadWords - December 14, 2011

Greetings Friends!

2011 has been quite a year. First, thank you all for coming out and supporting our music! And I'm so honored to have been Grammy® nominated for the 4th time! "Round Midnight" is nominated for "Best Jazz Vocal Album" The big event happens in February. We'll keep you posted!

We left off last August. We were invited to play for the Aspen Jazz Festival. Needless to say, since I'm a hiker, I was able to take some time during that trip to hike around that amazing area. And it was a lovely crowd to play for too. Along with me were Rod, drummer Jill Frederickson and bassist Ian Hutchinson. Fun!

After that we were off to Seattle’s Jazz Alley. It’s a longtime favorite and this time was no exception. Along with Rod, Jeff Johnson and Mark Ivestor we enjoyed great crowds, friends and the staff at Jazz Alley. It was a wonderful week. It’s always a pleasure to see our friends at KPLU while in this area. We often do a live in-studio session with guests. Thank you Dick Stein and KPLU folks!

So on August 23rd, I'm sitting there on the lower east side of Manhattan getting my hair cut. Suddenly the things around us start moving and shaking. I grabbed John's arm. Not a good idea when he's holding scissors! I said, "Did you feel that? That felt almost like . . . an earthquake!" I remember feeling a couple of these while in California and Japan. You never forget 'that feeling' although at first we thought "Construction!" (It IS NYC after all!) As we all know now, that's exactly what it was, an earthquake.

Then, a few days later came Hurricane Irene. With a few days off in late summer we had headed to the Jersey Shore to see family. Bad timing! We were all evacuated the day after we got there. It was quite scary. (I had posted a few pictures on facebook of the eerie, deserted area just before the storms.) Luckily for that area, Irene didn't do much damage. In so many other areas in the northeast they are still dealing with it. Our hearts go out to them.

In September we went to Yakima, WA, a sweet city in the center of Washington state. The "Seasons Series" that Pat Strosahl and his staff put on is very impressive. From Pat Metheny, to classical music, salsa dance, to us! This time it was a teaching workshop and two concerts with Jeff Johnson, Todd Strait, Mark Seals, Warren Rand and me. Along with the adult students in the workshop (really fun!) we went around to public schools to hear the students, play for and with them. This is so important and very gratifying as well. And what a band! I loved playing with these musicians!

Later that month I was asked to perform for my alma mater (University of Nebraska at Omaha) in New York at a very cool event, in a lovely, private home in the Village. I asked Gene Bertoncini to join me and he sounded great as usual.

At the end of October, we headed to Europe. The first stop was Istanbul. This was the first time I really got to see any of this amazing city. We stayed there for four days. Bill went along with us. He’s a great tour guide! I also met some new friends who took us around and hosted us at their lovely home as well. (See pics on my facebook page)

Then to Athens for sadly, only ONE night (actually, 18 hours). The venue there was very impressive. It’s almost theatre in the round. About 400-500 people were there with a very warm and enthusiastic reception. We look forward to going back soon. We also took a couple hours to see the Parthenon! Wow!

The next morning, off to Paris! The Duc des Lombards is a sweet venue in Les Halles area. We had two nights there and loved it. Then we stayed there for three more nights as tourists which was great! We went to Chartres Cathedral, Musee D'Orsay, and just walked and walked in the beautiful city of Paris.

Next were two more one-nighters. The first was in Vienna. Thanks to Wolfgang and his family for their hospitality and new friends we met while there. Then onto Rotterdam at a beautiful new venue called Lantaren Venster. We were treated like royalty and we look forward to going back. Thank you Jeanne!

When we returned to NYC, we played The Jazz Standard. Along with Bruce Barth, Ed Howard and Matt Wilson, we enjoyed our week there. It’s a cool club with great food and crowds.

Summit New Jersey has a sweet venue in the Unitarian Church there. Ed Howard, guitarist Bob Mann and I had a great time. What an audience there!

Finally, we headed to Kansas City, at Jardine's. It’s always like going for me. I saw so many friends. Along with Rod, Gerald Spaits and Randy Weinstein we had a great couple nights. Thank you to the staff there as well. I also got to see lots of family in Minneapolis and Omaha while in the area for Thanksgiving.

Don’t forget that you still have plenty of time to purchase my albums for Christmas presents. Buy them directly from karrin.com.

I wish you all a very Happy Holiday season!! And I look forward to seeing you soon.
With Love,
Karrin

Among some interesting things I heard, saw, read, or did:

- In Istanbul: an amazing museum called "RAHMI. M. KOÇ museum.”
- Musee D'Orsay and the Chartres Cathedral in Paris.
- The Parthenon in Athens.
- At the Poisson Rouge in NYC: an opera review with my friend Carole. (This was formerly the Village Gate)
- Walked the "High Line" in NYC with friends Karen, Naomi and Bill. Beautiful!
- Birdland to hear Nicholas Payton with Honolulu friends Lynne and Randy.
- Suny Purchase College: Bill McGlaughlin hosts a series there and this time it was with the Kalechstein, Laredo and Robinson Trio. Wonderful!
- Went to the lower east side's "Tenements Museum" with friend Susan from SF. Highly recommended!

RoadWords from Karrin Allyson - August 2011

Hello all! Thank you for checking in. We've had quite the last few months filled with lots of travel and great gigs! Thanks for coming out to see and hear us!

We start this issue of Roadwords way back in February, in Brookefield Wisconsin at the Sharon Lynn Performing Arts Center. These great people really know how to present a concert! That makes such a difference. It’s a beautiful theatre with a great crowd for a special night of music. I feel it was kind of the start of our starting to perform material from "Round Midnight." And it was a very good start. Next was something completely different but fun - a Valentine's concert in Palm Springs, CA at the El Dorado Club. People danced and it was a lot of was! It was also great to see our friends Dave and Dan who hosted us (Rod and Gerald Spaits and myself) to a lovely dinner the night before.

On to Omaha with the UNO Big Band - my alma mater. (This was the first big band I ever sang with - in college, although the faces have changed of course :) We performed at the beautiful Holland Theatre and that band sounded great! It’s always fun to see family and friends in my home towns (of which I'm lucky enough to have at least 5!).

Then, Edmunds, WA. to perform with their big band and the John Pizzarelli Trio - another fun and varied gig. It was also in honor of Frank DeMiero, the wonderful director and vocal guru in that sweet place. Playing with John and his trio was a kick!

On to West Palm Beach in Florida with Interplay and the JAMS concert. It was a very nice to treat to go south during the cold winter and I also got to see Uncle Ron, Vicki and family. Remember the Phoenix in KC? :)

In April, I was a part of the Blue Note's "Jazz for Japan" benefit concert at the Highline Ballroom in NYC. Got to hear so many great artists that night and they raised substantial funds for earthquake and tsunami relief.

Around this time I also got to hear Bill McGlaughlin's "Trout Week" concerts - five wonderful chamber music concerts broadcast live from WQXR's Greene Space in SoHo. Also really enjoyed Deb Winer's marvelous re-creation of the old New York night club scene at the 92nd St. Y. Featured a lot of our favorite local heroes, from Billy Stritch to Jay Leonhardt. Later on Billy showed up at our Birdland run and was kind enough to invite us to come hear his all-star Cy Coleman review. Was delighted to see Frank Brasile playing bari sax in the band. Frank's another Omaha native.

We recently heard Terrence Blanchard's quintet at Birdland - fabulous!! Also, finally got to watch Spike Lee's 'Requiem for New Orleans' - an excellent an maddening program that's very worth seeing."

Next stop was Pittsburgh at Theatre Square, another fun concert with Rod, Ed Howard and Matt Wlison for our first 'official' Round Midnight gig. Thank you to all of the great folks at this venue for making it a success. What a wonderful city! Then to Toronto for two really fun performances, first with Ross Porter at Jazz FM, where we did a live studio performance along with his insightful interview. Next we performed along with lots of other luminaries like Al Jareau who knocked us all out!

On to KC at the historic Folly Theatre. Along with Steve Nelson, Rod, Gerald and Matt Wilson, we had a great evening of music and a wonderful crowd. Thanks again to all there. Seeing so many friends in that wonderful theater really felt like coming home.

Then to Scullers in Boston - one of our favorite venues. Thanks to Freddie Taylor and the great staff there. We moved onto Northampton MA at the Iron Horse and saw lots of friends.

The Spoleto Festival has to go down as one of the most beautiful outdoor events I've played. Two nights under the starts in that lovely space. Along with Rod, Ed and Billy Drummond and lovely crowds. I also got to see my one and only voice teacher Jackie and family - special people.

Another favorite place: Birdland!! That was for the last week of April, into May. What a great week of music with along with Lewis Nash, Bob Sheppard, Steve Wilson, Rod and Ed. We had great crowds and the Birdland staff rocks!

Then to Yoshi's in Oakland, another favorite place and setting-- the bay area! Bruce Barth, Larry Kohut and Eric Montzka and I had a great couple nights. Also got to see more good friends there including Susan H and Bill!

Blues Alley in DC was the next stop. It had been too long since we had played DC. Along with Ed, Dave Stryker and Mark Walker, we had some fun nights of music in that soulful town.

Off to Vermont for the Interplay Jazz Camp which is always a fun time with the students and faculty there in a beautiful setting. If you are a student of this music (which we all are :) I highly recommend this week for you - try it!

Back to Omaha for the annual Blues and Jazz Fest. Due to all the flooding along the river, the concert was moved to the historic Orpheum Theatre. This is the theatre I heard so many artists, way back when I lived there: Cleo Laine, Mel Torme, Vladimir Horowitz, Emmanuel Ax, Dizzy just to name a few. So, it was special to be there for that reason too. Thanks to all who helped make that a success! Steve Wilson, Mark Walker, Rod and Gerald sounded great as usual.

Denver at "Dazzle" was next. It’s a nice little club that really makes you feel at home with lovely crowds. Then to Centralia, WA. at the historic Fox Theatre. These very special people also know how to present! Thanks to the great staff there in that sweet little town. Jeff Johnson joined us for that concert. In Denver I was also hosted to a wonderful dinner at Max & Linda's while there with our good friends Beth and Norman - what a treat!!

Then to another favorite venue, the Dakota in Minneapolis. If you're in the area, go there - for the spectacular food alone, not to mention the great music. I also got to see many family and friends.

And for my birthday - Whately, MA for the "Watermelon Wednesdays" series. In a SWEET little chapel sitting in the rolling hills of Western Mass, along with the "Valley Jazz Divas." We had a very special evening that unfolded like a magical spell.

Lots to report there, and we hope to see more of you in the next few months. Were returning to Jazz Alley in Seattle this week, then a little break for me (whew!) before the European tour begins.

I wish you all the best.
Karrin

RoadWords from Karrin - December 2010

I can't believe it's been so long since I've written! Could it really be since June? I guess I was busy!

Our Denver Festival gig was the gig that 'almost wasn't' ... as there was big weather - tornadoes and lots of rain. Our bassist and drummer, Larry Kohut and Eric Montzka had to divert into Colorado Springs and rent a car to get there. Then the gig was at a very cool (OUT DOOR!) venue with rain, rain, rain! But the show went on and many hearty listeners were there. I also had food poisoning (!) but again, the show goes on! Many other fun acts were there including Ray Vega - always love him. And thanks to Susan Gatchet at KUVO.

On to the Southwest, where we enjoyed some outdoors before doing a fundraiser for the Santa Fe Center for the Arts. We stayed with our good friends Karen and Spencer who also helped host the event. Rod and Bill and I put on a 'moonlight' themed show.

Left VERY early next morning for Vermont. Ms. Sheila Jordan actually drove ME from the airport to Interplay Workshop in Woodstock (thank you Sheila). As usual, we had a great visit. The camp went very well and it's always good to see some familiar faces (and voices) as well as the new students. I loved Sheila's and Gene Bertoncini's concert together.

Next, the Northwest to Seattle's Jazz Alley for the weekend with Rod, Jeff Johnson and Mark Ivester. This is always one of our favorite places to play.

The next day we moved on to Portland, OR to play the Cathedral Jazz Festival. What a great setting! I got to play with Nancy King, Steve Christofferson, Dan Balmer, Scott Steed and Todd Strait. Mark Murphy came and sat in. What an absolute treat to sing with two of my all time favorites. Also got to see some of the amazing Oregon coast line - unbelievably beautiful!

At the end of July we went to New Orleans for our “oil spill” fundraiser at One Eyed Jacks. We raised at least $5000.00 and then some for wetlands and fisherman (and families). Cindy Scott did an amazing job at putting it all together-- and Michael Simarjiza helped so much with getting the word out. (And of course, we ate really well while there!)

I visited some family in Omaha before going back to NYC. Next, to Marblehead MA. Gene Arnould does a lovely series there and we're happy to be a part of it.

On to Minneapolis at the Dakota where Rod, Larry Kohut and I had a lovely two nights there. Laura Caviani sat in and we had wonderful crowds.

Back to NYC for a quick rehearsal (in my apartment!) for our next project with Rod, Ed Howard, Matt Wilson and guests Bob Sheppard and Randy Weinstein. We recorded at Sear Sound in NYC, our favorite NYC studio. Two days only - whew! But I'm excited about this project - more on that later.
We played at Jazz at Lincoln Center for fashion week. The line up was Bruce Barth, Lewis Nash, Ed Howard and myself. What a great band!

Then we headed to Kansas City for the Prairie Village Jazz Festival. I sang a few tunes with the KC Jazz Orchestra which was great fun. Eldar was on the bill and he sounds great as usual.

Back home in NYC for a few days, then back to KC area, for Boonville, MO performance in their very cool venue and "Hotel Frederick." Parris Johnson did a great job putting it all together. And the Topeka KS Jazz Workshop was a wonderful afternoon and a huge turn out. Our friend Chuck Berg was there front and center. It was great to see him. Marcy did a great job of organizing this concert too. Dave Overmeyer put on a wonderful after party at his house. A beautiful soul - Dave! Frisbee and fishing down on his pond at sunset with all that wonderful food and freinds - a great way to celebrate Gerald Spait's birthday!

Back to NYC it was Dizzy's at Jazz at Lincoln Center with Sheila Jordan, Bruce Barth, Cameron Brown and Billy Drummond. We had a very special week there together and I got to bring my Mom (Chrystopher) there for all of it. We also saw a great exhibit at the Met.

Scullers in Boston was the next stop. We always love to play there but this time, it was in the dark! There was a black out in that part of the city, so the whole hotel and club were dark. It happened just after soundcheck. Ed got stuck in an elevator for a minute and we all walked up 16 flights to our rooms. Bill held a flash light in the bath room for me to put a little make up on We played by candle light for the first sold out set; then, the lights came back on. It was almost too bad about that. When you find a 'vibe' that works :) it was a shame to change it. Also I was quite sick with the flu, but the show went on! And all seemed happy.

Back for my little Northampton, MA series, this time featuring Rod Fleeman and Gene Bertoncini, two special guitarists. It’s great fun to hear them together and to sing with them. We had a lovely if small group listening.

Then a break from the live performance scene to mix the next project in LA. We mixed at the famed "Village Recording Studios" - a beautiful, old studio where tons of gold records are hung on the walls. Thank you to Nick and Seth and Bill for your TLC and expertise!

Back to Minneapolis where I was a part of a fundraiser for KBEM with Laura Caviani, Gordy Johnson and Phil Hey. It was a great band and we had a wonderful time playing together. My Mom and sister Elisa attended as well and the food and wine were lovely.

To the Bay Area: Yoshi's in San Francisco - a great crowd and we love the venue. Singer Kenny Washington sat in with us (LOVE him). My sister Tracy met me and we had a lovely couple days there with friends Susan and Nancy in that beautiful city.

Next stop: Tempe, AZ to sing with the Arizona State University Big Band. Woody Wilson does a fantastic job with this series and the hall is state of the Art. The band played with soul and swing. Also enjoyed trumpet player Scott Wilson who shared the bill.

Europe: This was quite a nice trip, starting out in Salzburg - Mozart's home town, for the festival there. What a beautiful place of course - legendary! We played in a very old (1400s) building in their “brewery.” It could scare one initiially, except this was no regular brewery. It was a concert venue (with great beer!).

Then, Minden, Germany in their very cool little club, which is run by a committee - a jazz committee! They do a great job and we enjoyed being there. They were already getting ready for Christmas there.

Next was Hoorn, but first our host, Henk, took us into Amsterdam for a couple hours as that's all the time we had, but fun to see. The venue in Hoorn was completely charming, like playing in your living room with warm, attentive folks there, an upright piano that worked well for us as it was very intimate! Truly a joy being with those lovely people.


In Stockholm next for my first time. Beautiful city - unfortunately very little time there! But I've heard about the Fasching Club for years and I was happy to be there ... even though, un-believably, we experienced another black out! Our hotel went dark, so finding our ways down the dark steps to the lobby was a trick. Our host met us to warn that the show may not 'go on' in this case as there was no electricity there either. So, we went to dinner and waited, and sure enough, they were able to fix it, and we played. (That's the 3rd time in my whole life during a gig.) Once while in San Jose, CA, the whole state of California had a brown out and it happened to be during the festival. I would love to return to Stockholm someday soon.

We ended our little tour in Paris. It had been too long since I'd been there, so it was really great being back. And "Duc des Lombards" is a very cool club - almost like a small but 'tall' (high ceiling) theatre. The crowds were great and gave us many encores which we were happy to do. Rod and Ed played great through out the trip.

Great stuff I saw and heard:
- Bill McGlaughlin's NYC Bryant Park series with wonderful classical players like, Orion String Quartet, Imani Winds, Mark O'Connor (I sang Amazing Grace with them on memorial day in the rain.), Tara Helen O'Connor on flute.
- Renee Rosnes quintet at Dizzy's with Steve Nelson, Peter Washington, Rich Perry & Bill Stewart.
- Phil Woods quintet at Birdland with Bill Mays, Bill Goodwin and Brian Lynch.
- Beach, Blanket Babylon in San Francisco-- what a hoot.
- The Sunshine Boys in Kansas City starring our very talented friend Howard Hessman.
- At Paris' Marmotan Museum - lots of beautiful Monet!!
Also while in Paris, dined at Restaurante da Franco (delicious!) and had amazing pastry at Les Deux Magots. Bill and I simply walked around that beautiful city.

Please check our Facebook for comments and photos along the way - and thank you for checking in. We hope to have dates in your area soon and wish you a very happy, healthy Holiday Season.

With Love, Karrin