Karrin Allyson

On Saturday, September 20, Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT), located at 23 Water St., Ossining NY, will present a performance by the internationally renowned jazz vocalist Karrin Allyson. The New York Times called Karrin “a singer with a feline touch and impeccable intonation.” Her WCT appearance will be followed by a singing date at NYC’s long-time jazz venue Birdland the following Tuesday.

Allyson has delved into bop and blues, Great American standards, and written her own songs. Her highly regarded 2001 album Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane was a beautiful rendering of the songs on Trane’s 1963 classic, plus three other numbers associated with him. Her 2004 album, Wild for You, is a collection of singer-songwriter pop tunes——by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Carole King, and Carly Simon. On 2015’s Many a New Day, she paid tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein in the distinguished company of pianist Kenny Barron. More recently, she was the star of the ambitious 2019 concept recording, Shoulder to Shoulder

Allyson sings in English, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish. The songs she performs are drawn from a variety of genres. She has also recorded vocal performances of several instrumental jazz compositions, using both scat and vocalese techniques. She has recorded 12 original studio albums for the Concord Jazz label, and in 2009 she released a career-spanning "best of" collection. Her first all-original record, Some of That Sunshine, was released in August 2018 to rave reviews, with Jazz Times writing that "Allyson unleashes her equally impressive dexterity as a songwriter."

Five of Allyson's albums have received Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Few American jazz singers have had as long and fruitful a relationship with Brazilian music as Allyson. Her early albums included such classics as “Corcovado” and “One Note Samba”. Her 1999 recording From Paris to Rio split the difference between songs from those musical cities; 2008’s Imagina: Songs of Brazil upped the ante on Rio. In 2024 she released another all-Brazilian outing, A Kiss for Brazil, featuring the great Bahian singer-guitarist Rosa Passos on two songs.

Allyson will be joined by the legendary guitarist Joe Cohn. Son of legendary tenor saxophonist Al Cohn and vocalist Marilyn Moore, Cohn is one of the most inventive and sought after guitarists in jazz today. He has performed at major jazz festivals and clubs around the world and recorded countless CDs as sideman along with several as leader and co-leader. In 1982, he joined the revived Artie Shaw Orchestra and after a six-year tenure went on to play with the bands of many other notable musicians. He has performed with Tony Bennett, Bob Hope, Mel Torme, Joe Williams, Rosemary Clooney, Dizzy Gillespie, Vic Damone, Hank Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Clark Terry, Warne Marsh, Wynton Marsalis, Dave McKenna, Lee Konitz, Tommy Flanagan, James Moody, and Eddie Daniels among others.

Tickets, $30 per set, can be purchased online at Eventbrite (limited seating available; advance purchase is strongly recommended.) Refreshments will be available.

About Westchester Collaborative Theater

Since its opening in 2017, the WCT black box performance space has become increasingly known as a venue showcasing WCT plays and readings, as well as live music and a variety of performance artists. For upcoming theater and music events visit http://www.wctheater.org/

Westchester Collaborative Theater is a multicultural, cooperative theater company located in Ossining, NY, dedicated to developing new work for the stage and bringing live theater to the community. It is comprised of local playwrights, actors, and directors who employ a Lab approach in which new stage works are nurtured through an iterative process of readings, critiques, and rewrites. When work is ready for production, it is presented to the public.

WCT is committed to furthering theater arts in our community. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and a recipient of production grants from ArtsWestchester and New York State Council on the Arts.

Host or Publisher Westchester Collaborative Theater