Karrin Allyson - July through December 2009

Hi and thanks for checking in...
The end of the summer seemed like it would be less busy, but it wasn't - mostly with good things.
July 27 - Had a birthday party in NYC :) and many good friends showed up. It was a blast!
South Pacific - saw and heard our friend Loretta Ables who plays "Bloody Mary" - a great production! (I played 'Nellie' in that musical in high school! so, it brought back a lot of memories.)
August: Sea Isle New Jersey with family and Cape May. Heard & sat in with George Mesterhazy at one of our favorite places: the Merion Inn. Go there when you're in the area! Took the ferry to Lewes, Delaware - lovely. Ate some delicious crab.
Haagsund, Norway festival with Rod, Larry Kohut and Tim Horner. It was a nice festival and reminded us the North Sea festival - there was so much going on. Beautiful place!
NYC - Shakespeare on the Park with our friends . . . a beautiful evening and what a way to spend it.
NYC Bemelman's Bar- heard the wonderful pianist Bob Albanese with wonderful trio (see pics soon on photo gallery)
September: With Marian McPartland at Dizzy's for a very special performance. It's a wonderful experience to play with Ms. Marion - always.
Western Illinois University with Rod, Larry Kohut & drummer Eric Montzka - great trio!
Kansas City Symphony Ball under the direction of Michael Stern with Rod, Eric, Gerald Spaits and pianist Roger Wilder. What a treat it was to play with the symphony.
Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA with Rod and the wonderful piano trio.
Williams College in Williamstown, MA - a beautiful town and route to get there at this time of year especially... Andy Jaffee runs a very good jazz program there.
The Iron Horse in North Hampton, MA - this is a great sounding room with a wonderful crowd.
We played at Dizzy's in Lincoln Center for a week as part of the Women in Jazz Festival. The band was Rod, Lewis Nash, Peter Washington (and Cameron Brown too! :). It’s always an honor and treat to play at Dizzy's.
October: Lots of family visiting. In Omaha, NE at the Holland Center was a fundraiser for piano department at UNO (my alma mater). I also sang with the UNO Big Band. Then a special event in Clinton MO with Rod and Gerald at a beautiful little church and wonderful crowd. Also saw lots of friends in KC.
Sheila Jordan and I did a really cool concert in East Hampton, MA. It was a benefit for music and arts in the schools. We had Bruce Barth on piano, who valiantly just made it in due to flight troubles. He arrived at 6:59 PM, the concert started at 7:00 PM ! Also on the gig were baritone sax player Gary Sumulyan and bassist Dave Wertman. It was a really special night singing with Ms Sheila and these wonderful players for such a worthy cause.
One more thing - if you hear a Chase Bank commercial on TV that you think might sound like me - it probably is!
November: Winnipeg for the Izzy Asper Series - our 3rd time back there. Wonderful students at their jazz school there and always a great crowd.
JAZZ CRUISE: This line up was amazing and what an experience to be surrounded by all these great players in such a beautiful environment. I even got to ride a horse in the SEA....on a sweet little island "Half Moon Cay" in the Bahamas . . . so did Ann Hampton Callaway and of course we had a great time sitting in with each other.
Have a good holiday season, thank you for coming out to hear us.
The performances at Temple University were a gas!
I especially liked working w the students in the masterclass and doing a couple private lessons. I'm inspired by the interaction between Terell Stafford and the students and the positive energy is palpable! As well as the level of playing & singing. Bruce Barth showed up for the concert (he's the jazz piano guru there) and sax teacher Dick Oates, along w Dean Stroker and the president of Temple herself.
it was truly an honor to receive the jazz masters award (first woman!) and to get to play with these wonderful young musicians.
I ended November with a Master’s Class at the Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Then kicked off December with a concert there with the Temple University Big Band, Terell Stafford conducting.
The performances at temple were a gas!
I especially liked working with the students in the Master’s Class and doing a couple private lessons. I'm inspired by the interaction between Terell Stafford and the students and the positive energy is palpable! As well as the level of playing & singing. Bruce Barth showed up for the concert (he's the jazz piano guru there) along with sax teacher Dick Oates, and with Dean Stroker and the President of Temple Dr. Ann Weaver Hart.
I was highly honored at this concert when I received their “Jazz Masters Hall of Fame Award.” Past recipients include Jimmy Heath, Clark Terry, Joe Wilder and Jon Faddis. I was the first women to receive this distinction!!
LOVE and PEACE,
Karrin