K.ALLYSON

Jazz balladeer
up for Grammy

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By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com

A few years ago vinyl albums were generally dismissed as obsolete. Today it's an honor to have an album released on audiophile-grade vinyl in addition to regular CDs. Karrin Allyson added that honor to her resume last year when a small alabel pressed a vinyl version of her seventh Concord Records CD, "Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane."

"I always dreamed of making a (vinyl) album but by the time I got around to recording, (record labels) didn't do them any more. There's only a thousand copies, so it's a limited edition, but it's really cool," Allyson said.

More copies may be pressed now that "Ballads" is a Grammy Awards finalist in the "Vocal Jazz Album" and "Best Engineered Non-Classical" categories, with winners to be named Feb. 27.

"I've been on the cusp or on the verge for years -- that's what I feel like -- and it's kind of exciting," she said of the nomination. "You work very hard in this business. A break would be wonderful."

"Ballads" is gorgeous in a way that appeals to both jazzists and sophisticated pop fans. Allyson caresses each note and phrase. Her acoustic sextet is magnificent. She describes working on the disc as a dream project.

"John Coltrane's album, "Ballads," has been one of my favorites, and I just thought one day how nice it might be for a vocalist to sing those tunes in the same order and kind of in the same fashion, and that's what we did."

Allyson, who speaks French (it was her minor at the University of Nebraska), enjoys stepping outside American "jazz" to sing and record traditional French pop songs. For her sixth album, 1999's "From Paris to Rio," she went international with a repertoire that also reflected her love of Brazilian music. She'll likely include a few songs in French and Portuguese when she performs Sunday at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

"We do some pop material, and Brazilian and French material, but it doesn't come off as a variety show as in, 'Can't you decide what you're good at?' because the way we do them is always with a jazz sensibility."

Allyson has performed here regularly, due to the efforts of a sister who lives here, and Jimmy Borges -- a friend, fan and advocate. Allyson hooked up with Hawaii Public Radio's Atherton Studio and also played word-of-mouth engagements at the Hawaii Prince Hotel. She'll be joined this year by an acoustic trio featuring guitarist Danny Embrey, who played on the "From Paris to Rio" sessions, Bruce Hamada (bass) and Jim Howard (piano).

"We met (Hamada and Howard) at the Halekulani when I was looking for jazz in Honolulu and it's been a great friendship ever since. They're not just your average lounge players, they're very fine jazz players, and I think the Halekulani is lucky to have them," said Allyson, who gets plenty of opportunity to appraise musicians nationwide while touring about 70 percent of the year.

Her genesis as a jazz vocalist wasn't lineal. Her mother was a classically trained pianist, and Allyson -- from age 6 -- and her two sisters all took piano lessons. Allyson majored in classical piano in college and discovered her vocal abilities along the way.

"Singing kind of came naturally, but it wasn't my main thing to begin with. I started to accompany myself on some pop tunes that I liked -- Carole King, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell -- and then I started to join some acoustic jam nights."

She knew "about 10 tunes" when she was offered a restaurant gig, but the owner said that was enough to start. She began exploring funk and rock, then met jazz fans who turned her on to Nancy Wilson, Carmen McRae, and other jazz greats. That's when Allyson knew she'd found her calling.

She explored Minneapolis's jazz scene for several years before moving to Kansas City, where she recorded "I Didn't Know About You," the debut album that brought her to Concord's attention. The label signed her and six more albums have followed, each reaching more people than the one before it.

"A friend asked me when am I going to stop being "up-and-coming," which is pretty cute, but it's better to still be 'up-and-coming' than to be a has-been or a never-was."

Karrin Allyson Where: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St. When: 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday Tickets: $22 (4 p.m.); $28 (7 p.m.) Call: 532-8700 or 737-9282

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