Karrin Allyson Reviews

Karrin Allyson comes home to promote a CD for late-night listening

By JOE KLOPUS
The Kansas City Star
Wednesday, May. 04, 2011

Hometown favorite Karrin Allyson is coming back to town to promote a new CD, “ ’Round Midnight,” arguably one of her best.

But it’s a deep-blue batch of sad songs, such as “Turn Out the Stars,” “There’s No Such Thing as Love” and “Send in the Clowns.”

“I don’t know if it’s dark, but it’s definitely late-night listening,” says Allyson, who brings her tour to the Folly Theater on Saturday. “I don’t know if I’d call it moody, but it’s definitely introspective.

“I always feel that there’s a part of my personality that can be both sunny and dark. It’s never just totally one thing. I hope people can get some hope and sun from this record as well. There’s a real fine line between all these things.”

But why such an emphasis on the sad songs?

“I just love them all,” she says.

Part of the album’s artistic success is its spontaneous feel. Allyson says there was just one rehearsal, “just me and the rhythm section in my apartment for a couple of hours, and that was it. I did all the arrangements. And it’s more personal for me, since I’m playing all the piano parts, too.”

These days, she isn’t even bringing a piano player on the road. Her college studies centered on piano, not voice — “I had no idea this was coming!” she says — and now she’s spending more time at the piano while she sings.

Its effect on her singing?

“You can make some harmonic and rhythmic choices that you couldn’t make if you weren’t playing. I still love to just stand and sing — it’s a great feeling. But it’s very gratifying to be able to play for myself, too.”

She adds, “I mostly leave the solos to other players.”

And she’s bringing a fine band to the Folly, but you knew that was going to happen. There are two longtime Kansas City friends, guitarist Rod Fleeman, who’s in her road band these days, and bassist Gerald Spaits. The in-demand drummer Matt Wilson is on the gig, just as he’s on the CD. The band also has vibraphonist Steve Nelson — who has also lit up the Folly stage in Dave Holland’s group — for a pleasant interaction of guitar and vibes.

“I want players who have their own stories to tell and want to help me tell these stories,” Allyson says. “They can’t just be some kind of harmonic genius. I need players with huge ears and the capacity to interact. I love to give them a lot of space.”

Allyson staked out her musical space in Kansas City close to two decades ago. Within a few years she had a record deal that’s still on, and she was in demand around the world.

She left Kansas City for New York about a decade ago. She’s still touring the world and doing a growing amount of teaching.

“I’m always telling students you can’t feel like you’re just a singer,” she says. “If you want to be a jazz musician, you have to feel like you’re a musician who sings.”

And there’s one other development. She’s working more at writing songs. She isn’t ready to bring them out in public yet, but just wait.

And she’s still often on the road and looking forward to a return to Kansas City.

Despite all the sad songs on the new CD, she has this to say about the Folly concert: “I promise it won’t be a heartbreaking evening.”