COURTESY OF CONCORD RECORDS

An island presence

Karrin Allyson and guitarist
Danny Embrey will perform

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By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com

Karrin Allyson's national profile as a premier jazz vocalist has grown with each visit to Honolulu.

In a career that's spanned a little more than a decade, Allyson's maturing as an artist was most noticeable with her bold 1999 cross-cultural project, "From Paris to Rio." At about the same time, she began her annual visits to the islands, combining singing engagements with visits with her sister.

Allyson and guitarist Danny Embrey return to the Honolulu Academy of Arts' refurbished theater tomorrow, backed by three local jazz stalwarts: Jim Howard, Bruce Hamada and Noel Okimoto.

Following the successes of Allyson's Grammy-nominated John Coltrane tribute "Ballads," from 2001, and her latest album, "In Blue," Allyson said her career is progressing at a good pace.

"I'm making strides to make myself more visible to the general public," she said by phone from her sister's home. "I just signed to the William Morris Agency and have also gone to a management company called Stiletto that handles other singers like Barry Manilow and Curtis Stigers. But I'll continue to be a hard worker, always keeping busy."

In a marketplace dominated by favored chanteuses as Diana Krall and Norah Jones, Allyson feels that today's overall music scene is "inundated with new, up-and-coming talent" and that in the era of the ingenue, it's tough to maintain a long-term career. She's frank when she says "the business side of music stinks a lot! But I'm fortunate to have the support of a record label like Concord."

COURTESY OF CONCORD RECORDS

All in all, though, Allyson said she has no real complaints, and her life as a singer "is a good way to live. Living in New York helps, where the perception of being in a city considered as a cultural mecca is very much true."

WHILE IT'S accurate to peg Allyson as a fine jazz singer, it's always been her goal to broaden her repertoire, hence her recent run of concept albums. "I've always been influenced by pop artists, and it's very much evident in the songs in my repertoire," she said. "I started out as a classical pianist when I was young, went through a rock 'n' roll phase and began to focus on jazz for the past 15 years. That's the beauty of my relationship with music."

Far from being mere record marketing ploys, she said concept albums have given her an opportunity to expand her repertoire, whether through Brazilian and French songs, jazz standards or beloved blues tunes. "This is a way the audience can grasp what I can do musically," she said.

Allyson affectionately refers to her eight albums as her babies, and her latest "birth" is a finely conceived selection of bluesy tunes that range from the familiar -- an especially lovely "How Long Has This Been Going On?"; the opening "Moanin'," written by Bobby Timmons and made famous by Lambert, Hendricks and Ross; and a couple of convincing takes on early Bonnie Raitt songs, "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy" and "Love Me Like a Man."

More obscure are two soulful tunes by Oscar Brown Jr. ("Long as You're Living" and "Hum Drum Blues"); an urbane version of Blossom Dearie's "Bye Bye Country Boy"; and a fresh interpretation of Joni Mitchell's "Blue Motel Room." The latter is so convincing that Allyson should consider recording a Mitchell tribute album.

The key highlight of "In Blue," however, is her sublime interpretation of a little-known song by the late Bobby Troup, of "Route 66" fame, called "The Meaning of the Blues." Allyson's talent for insinuating herself into the spirit of the song -- never overemoting, always in control and exposing emotional nuances -- is evident here.

"My big focus has always been, first and foremost, to my music, my audience and my players," she said. "And while I always strive to be the best possible singer, things could be a little easier -- it's a hard life sometimes."

Karrin Allyson Where: The Doris Duke at the Academy, Honolulu Academy of Arts When: 7 p.m. tomorrow Tickets: $30, $28 academy members Call: 532-8700

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