Karrin Allyson

Karrin Allyson (; born Karrin Allyson Schoonover on July 27, 1963) is an American jazz vocalist. She has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has received positive reviews from several prominent sources, including the New York Times, which has called her a "singer with a feline touch and impeccable intonation."

Early life and education Karrin Allyson was born in Great Bend, Kansas; her father was a Lutheran minister and her mother was a psychotherapist, teacher, and classical pianist. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and spent her last year of high school in San Francisco. In her youth, she studied classical piano, sang at her local church and in musical theatre, and also began songwriting.

Allyson attended the University of Nebraska Omaha on a classical piano scholarship; she majored in classical piano and minored in French. She was lead singer for an all-female rock band called Tomboy. She also developed an avid interest in jazz, performing both in a jazz swing choir in college and in her own jazz ensemble, which had gigs at venues in Omaha. In 2022 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from The University of Nebraska Omaha.

Career After graduating from college in 1986, Allyson moved to Minneapolis and concentrated on her jazz career. In 1990, she moved to Kansas City, where her career took off. In 1992 she recorded her debut album, I Didn't Know About You, which was so well received it was re-released on Concord Records in 1993. McGlaughlin co-produced and assisted on most of Allyson's CDs, and also often accompanied her on the road when she toured. Beginning in 2020, they co-hosted B&K Cafe, an hour-long monthly light classical music and jazz program, with commentary, on the WWFM network. The couple married in 2025 after 35 years of partnership.

Discography I Didn't Know About You (Concord Jazz, 1993) Sweet Home Cookin' (Concord Jazz, 1994) Azure-Té (Concord Jazz, 1995) Collage (Concord Jazz, 1996) Daydream (Concord Jazz, 1997) From Paris to Rio (Concord, 1999) Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane (Concord Jazz, 2001) Yuletide Hideaway (Kas, 2001) In Blue (Concord Jazz, 2002) Wild for You (Concord, 2004) Footprints (Concord Jazz, 2006) Imagina: Songs of Brasil (Concord Jazz, 2008) 'Round Midnight (Concord Jazz, 2011) Many a New Day: Karrin Allyson Sings Rodgers & Hammerstein (Motema, 2015) Some of That Sunshine (Kas, 2018) The Karrin Allyson Sextet, Shoulder to Shoulder: A Centennial Tribute to Women's Suffrage (eOne Music, 2019) A Kiss For Brazil (Origin, 2024)