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Karrin Allyson and I moved to the Kansas City are at about the same time in our lives.  I had just graduated and had a finance job downtown; she had just moved from Minnesota and was headlining at the Phoenix Bar and Grill.  My friends and I would try to catch her every weekend. One friend called her the “Genius Jazz Girl” and she still is.

Instead of the old smoke-filled club, Allyson and her ensemble of talented friends took the stage at the Folly Theater, Saturday night as the final act in the Folly’s Jazz Series.  Although the atmosphere was more formal than my old bar stool perched at the piano, and my view was somewhat obscured from the balcony, the Folly did relax their policy and allowed beverages in the house.

Having her back in Kansas City, with her mom and partner in the audience, made the evening feel more like a private show for 300 of her closest friends.  She doesn’t banter much onstage.  She communicates with the audience through her songs which I was surprised to find were rather wistful and reflective.

Allyson has been described as a “musician’s musician,” and that isn’t an understatement.  I remember people saying that about her as soon as she arrived.  Even with a piano performance degree, she could relate her musical ideas to musicians at every level.  She was never disdained for being a “singer.” 

Karrin Allyson has unbelievable chops but she is also meticulous and attending to every vocal detail.  Her voice is difficult to define.  It’s got a Blossom Dearing cuteness that can be very seductive.  Her petite physical presence is youthful but she isn’t naïve.  She can play sinner and saint at the same time.

Saturday night she bubbled through some Bossa Nova’s by Jobim and the clever Samba “O Pato.”  She growled the blues and smoldered through stories of lost love and disappointed hopes.  Singing songs by Charlie Chaplin, Bill Evans, Herb Ellis, Paul Simon, and Harold Arlen, just to name a few, she crossed over seamlessly from musical theatre to pop and jazz in a way that was barely discernable.  She performed the majority of songs on the program from the piano where her back was to the audience and she was still able to express herself with every vertebra.

Her ensemble was a combination of KC and NYC, where she currently lives and works.  Rod Fleeman (guitar) and Gerald Spaits (double bass) represented her Kansas City connection while Matt Wilson (drums) and Steve Nelson (vibes) brought their NYC view.   I was surprised by the differences in their approaches.  Maybe it’s because I was used to hearing the local players but the other half of the ensemble brought techniques and ideas to the table I hadn’t heard before. 

For example, during the Paul Simon piece, April Come She Will, Matt Wilson turned off his snare and used his hands to play the entire piece, sounding like a conga and coaxing just the right amount of sound from the cymbals with his fingers. Throughout the evening his brush technique was nothing short of mesmerizing and his quasi-clave rimshot turned a typical Latin rhythm into something more interesting.  Highlights of the evening were those songs that ended with Allyson and Wilson “fading out” as if in a studio.  

Vibraphonist, Steve Nelson, balanced his contribution between the sweet resonant vibe sound that melds the ensemble together and a dampened, percussive solo approach that sounded fresh and unexpected.

Rod Fleeman seemed to enjoy himself.  He and Allyson have an obvious friendship that results in excellent on-stage communication.  Unfortunately, his back was to the other players and he had to twist around to become engaged.  His guitar solos were seasoned and sophisticated.  Bassist, Gerald Spaits seemed less in his element on stage.  He seemed intent on supporting the group but when he did take a solo it was always with a quiet humbleness.  Sadly, the players didn’t communicate with each other as easily as they might have had they been in a more relaxed environment or had more time to jell.  Overall, they were very professional, but not very interesting to watch.

Hearing Karrin Allyson again I was reminded how refreshing it is to hear a voice I can relate to.  The stories she chose to tell through song, were stories I knew well.   Since it was Mother’s Day Eve, she gave a shout out to us mothers in the audience.  My life brought three sons but she reminded us with a smile that her life brought four CDs into the world including her latest offering, Round Midnight.  It was nice to hear her again and reminisce, if only for one performance. 

REVIEW:
Karrin Allyson
The Folly Jazz Series
Saturday May 7th, 2011
The Folly Theater
1020 Central Street, Kansas City, MO
For more information, call 816-474-4444 or online at www.follytheater.org

Top Photo: Karrin Allyson

By Megan Browne Helm

Classical, Vocal and Theatre Contributor

Megan Browne Helm grew up singing, dancing and acting.  Inspired by Emma Kirkby as a high school student in St. Louis she went on to study voice and sing with the Collegium Musicum at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio where she also had a radio show of contemporary classical music on WOBC.  At the University of Kansas she had the pleasure of working with former Kings’ Singer, Simon Carrington in his Collegium Musicum and Oread consort. Years later, she was a choral fellow at the Yale School of Music’s  Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.  She is currently singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus under the direction of Charles Bruffy. 

 As a freelance music and culture writer her work can be found on KCMetropolis.org, presentmagazine.com, the Lawrence Journal World, Shawnee Magazine, Leawood Lifestyle Magazine and KC Parent.  She was one of 26 journalists in the country chosen as a NEA Institute Fellow for Classical Music and Opera at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

Her current interest is how classical music remains relevant through active collaborations with artists in different fields, including science.  She also sees a connection between classical music, travel and food as a way to engage all of the senses in a 360 degree cultural experience.  She blogs at raworganum.wordpress.com.