BRATTLEBORO — When vocalist Karrin Allyson steps to the mic, you can't predict what style or language she'll perform in. The best part is, it doesn't matter.
Allyson, the quintessential jazz vocalist, has climbed to the peak of the genre since releasing her debut album, “I Didn't Know About You” (1993). She is regarded as among the top vocalists in jazz.
She's set to bring her vocal stylings to the Vermont Jazz Center on Saturday, March 16, for an 8 p.m. concert.
Now 13 albums in, Allyson has appeared at top venues worldwide, having performed at major jazz festivals in Brazil, Japan, Australia, and Europe, and several of the most legendary jazz venues in the United States, such as New York City's Blue Note and Birdland.
Along the way, Allyson has garnered four Grammy Award nominations, most recently for Round Midnight (2011).
Now a resident of New York City, Allyson makes frequent stops in New England, and is likely a familiar vocalist for listeners to regional radio jazz shows.
Having grown up in Kansas, with a stint as a teenager in San Francisco, Allyson honed her chops on The Great American Songbook and relaxes into her comfort zone on the songs of Gershwin and Porter. But she slips just as adroitly into the jazz sounds of Duke, Monk, and Miles.
And she might be in a blues mood, or she may slide into bossa nova or samba or perhaps soft or folk rock.
Whether she's singing in English, French, Portuguese, Italian, or Spanish, her music becomes an intimate experience for each member of the audience.
And as Gary Giddins of The Village Voice puts it: “Allyson coolly stakes her claim. She brings a timbre that is part ice and part grain - incisive, original, and emotionally convincing.”
Allyson, who sings and plays piano, will perform with Steve Cardenas on guitar, George Kaye on acoustic bass, and Todd Strait on drums.
Karrin Allyson's appearance at the Vermont Jazz Center is sponsored by Diana Bingham, with additional support from the Vermont Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Hampton Inn of Brattleboro. The show is underwritten by Vermont Public Radio and WFCR.