Karrin Allyson & The French Connection
"She's hip, she's savvy ... she makes me forget about the six o'clock news!" - Rex Reed

Something magical happens when Karrin Allyson steps up to a microphone. Rave reviews from every major jazz publication greeted her debut album, I Didn't Know About You. Playboy magazine's annual reader's poll placed her in the company of jazz giants Ella Fitzgerald and Shirley Horn. The most sincere compliment was paid by Concord Jazz which signed her to a multi-record contract.

The Concord association has produced four albums: Sweet Home Cookin', recorded in Los Angeles with Alan Broadbent and Bob Cooper, and three Kansas City albums: Azure-Te, Collage, and Karrin's latest: Daydreams, featuring guest artists Gary Burton and Randy Breker.

In between studio sessions, Allyson has managed to squeeze a furious schedule of live concerts - West coast tours from Seattle to LA, with repeat engagements at Jazz Alley, Yoshi's, Steamers, and Catalina; appearances at such renowned venues as Sculler's in Boston, Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., Chicago's Green Mill, Minneapolis' Dakota, and New York's new Bridled - a performance at the prestigious Spoleto Festival, as well as a sensationally received month long engagement at Michael's Pub in New York City.

Performances abroad include a month long tour of Brazil and two multi-week engagements at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Room at the Hotel Meridian in Paris, a two week stint at Pizza on the Park in London and a tour in Japan under the auspices of the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Karrin Allison's work in the concert hall numbers a series of engagements with the Kansas City Symphony, a touring engagement with Broadway Swings, including and evening at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, an NYC performance with the Fujitsu Concord Jazz All-Stars at Lincoln Center, as well as an appearance at the gala Ella Fitzgerald Tribute in New York's renowned Carnegie Hall, an event covered by CNN.

Karrin Allyson is a young musician of wide accomplishments: A first rate jazz singer, an excellent pianist who draws upon her classical training. A brilliant improviser and interpreter, Karrin commands a broad repertoire, which runs jazz and blues to pop and samba and French cabaret.

For all of that range, her greatest strength, like all the classic singers, lies in her treatment of the standards: the Great American Songbook. This young woman is a story teller who swings!

To check out Karrin Allyson's discography, click here.

Also, be sure to read this "Statewide" interview with Karrin.