Musical Conversations with Karrin Allyson & Kenny Washington

Teaming up TWO of the greatest Jazz Vocalists!!

Karrin Allyson, 5-time Grammy nominated jazz vocalist, pianist, and songwriter is widely recognized as one of the most gifted voices of her generation. With fifteen albums under her belt, she has built a mastery of The Great American Songbook, blues, pop, be-bop, Brazilian, and French chansons, to name a few. Allyson rose to prominence in the ‘90s, releasing a string of albums including her debut I Didn’t Know About You in 1992. The album earned such accolades as being name-checked in Playboy's annual readers' poll alongside such greats as Ella Fitzgerald and Shirley Horn.

Allyson continued issuing albums at a steady pace, picking up Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy nominations for 2001's Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane, 2006’s Footprints, 2007’s Imagina: Songs of Brasil, 2011's 'Round Midnight, and 2015’s Many a New Day: Karrin Allyson Sings Rodgers and Hammerstein. Born in Great Bend, Kansas, Allyson now lives in New York City, after growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, attending high school in the Bay Area, earning her bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and spending time in both Kansas City and Minneapolis before making the move in 2000. Since moving to New York, Allyson’s band has consisted of such players as Bruce Barth, Ed Howard, James Williams, Adam Cruz, Steve Wilson, Miro Sprague, Jerome Jennings, and Jeff Johnson. The New York Times has called her a "singer with a feline touch and impeccable intonation."

Kenny Washington thrills audiences across the globe with his soulful interpretations, seemingly limitless range, and rapid-fire scatting. The New Orleans native, now based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is described as one of “the Bay Area’s best kept musical secrets,” Washington’s astounding improvisational flights, inventive approach and emotional intensity are awe inspiring. If you have never heard this New Orleans native sing before, prepare to join a global audience that has been wowed by Washington’s talent.

"The thing is, Washington slays 'em wherever he performs. Standing not quite five-foot-two, he's an oversize talent who can scat with the harmonic daring and rhythmic command of a bebop saxophonist, croon with the simmering soul of Donny Hathaway, and interpret standards with such intelligence and emotional commitment it's like Rodgers and Hart wrote "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" with him in mind." -- Andrew Gilbert, eastbayexpress.com

So what happens when you put them together? Pure Magic!

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