Karrin Allyson / The Long & McQuade Performance Center at Jazz FM 91 / Toronto, Canada / May 4th, 2011
Reviewed by Joe Montague
On
an evening that ranks up there with the best of radio or television productions
that you will hear or see in America or Canada, three-time Grammy nominated Jazz
singer and pianist Karrin Allyson was both interviewed by Jazz FM 91 President
Ross Porter and performed in concert on May 4th
in Toronto Canada. In the intimate environs of the Long & McQuade Performance
Center at the radio station, Allyson and her trio, which also consisted of
upright bassist Marc Rogers and longtime friend and guitar virtuoso Rod Fleeman
opened the evening with Ms. Allyson singing and playing the Bill Evans and Gene
Lees song “Turn Out The Stars.”
As the
evening easily segued between Karrin Allyson’s music and her dialogue with Mr.
Porter, she talked about her new album
‘Round
Midnight and how thematically the
recording lays bare the sense of personal loss and her desire to create an
ambience that reflected an intimate nightclub, late at night and where the
listener could soak in ballads. To that end, the intimacy of the performance
center and a small, by invitation audience, combined with Ross Porter’s low key
and conversational approach to his interview questions, to successfully create
that mood.
Moving into Paul
Simon’s “April Come She Will,” Karrin Allyson was elegant, both as a singer and
pianist and the highlight was the exquisite bridge, during which Rod Fleeman and
Karrin Allyson serenaded one another. Dressed in a light brown jacket, black
scoop neck blouse, black slacks and black boots with four inch heels, Ms.
Allyson’s right foot continually tapped out the beat, while her head was bopping
to the music.
Ms. Allyson counted
the trio in as they played Clifford Brown’s “Joy Of Spring,” while she somehow
managed to sing, play the piano and snap her fingers all at the same time. Marc
Rogers’ bass playing was emotive and Rod Fleeman kept the audience spellbound as
his fingers gently coaxed pure magic from his guitar. Karrin Allyson served up
the lyrics in rapid fire and her scatting quickly followed. As the song came to
a close, Ross Porter asked Ms. Allyson to rate on a scale of one to ten how
difficult it is to perform “Joy Of Spring,” to which she replied, “Apparently
very hard.”
Drawing from
her 2008 album
Imagina: Songs of Brasil,
Karrin Allyson sang the first verse of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Double Rainbow,”
in Portuguese and performed the second verse in English. All three musicians
appeared to inspire one another to reach new heights in their performance.
This evening
was more than just an opportunity to listen to and to watch Karrin Allyson
perform, as Ross Porter drawing upon his ten year friendship with her, created
an up close and personal visit with one of today’s truly outstanding vocalists.
We
were treated to the funny side of Karrin Allyson, as she joked about her laptop
computer and she also described herself as an activist with very strong
interests in human rights.
Karrin
Allyson closed the evening elegantly with Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile,” and Duke
Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady.”
This was one of
those rare moments when you get to hear a wonderful interview, are treated to
magical music and you get to peek inside the life of one of today’s best Jazz
vocalists.
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