Search - Karrin Allyson :: Footprints

She's so versatile and brave!

D. Silvia | South Dartmouth, MA USA | 04/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of late, every album she has released is radically different. Paris to Rio - French/Portuguese jazz, Ballads - classic jazz, In Blue - smooth blues, Wild about you - pop/jazz interpretations. Just when you thought all the bases were covered, Footprints arrives. In Footprints Karrin reinterprets jazz standards that have had lyrics added (by Chris Caswell) - no small feat! She gets 4 stars for bravery alone! It takes guts to mess with classics - she proves she's got what it takes. Though it contains a great mix of duets and solos, it's not for everyone. I'm sure some people will be upset with lyrics being added to pure jazz instrumentals, but no matter what, you have to give Karrin credit. She sings what she likes and it shows. Pure clean vocals. She doesn't have the biggest voice out there but she sure has the prettiest. By the way: You scat lovers will not be disappointed - Karrin delivers."

Karrin is back! (Thanks, Nancy!)

Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 05/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"IMHO, Karrin Allyson's "Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane" was the best vocal jazz c.d. of 2001, and one of the best of the millenium. But, IMHO, her follow-ups, "In Blue" and "Wild For You," didn't measure up to that one. The programs felt wrong, or something. So, where does "Footprints" stack up?



IMHO, to the caliber of "Ballads". I'm delighted to say: Karrin Allyson is back!



This album is about vocalese of post-bop tunes, mostly with original lyrics by Chris Caswell. We have: Dizzy's "Con Alma" (note: this was done with different lyrics, by Nancy Rafat, on Tierney Sutton's 2001 "Unsung Heroes"); Trane's "Equinox" (which is a slowed-down "Cousin Mary" by any other name); the famous "Jordu" of Duke Jordan's; Nat Adderley's "Teaneck" (an instrumental on the seminal "Cannonball Adderley and Nancy Wilson") and "Never Say Yes"; and the title track of Wayne Shorter's.



This setting absolutely works for Ms. Allyson. She sounds great, as always, and the piano work of accompanist Bruce Barth is top drawer.



But what makes this a high 5-star album is Nancy King, Oscar Brown and Jon Hendricks.



Nancy King's voice works superbly well with Ms. Allyson's. Together, they sound tremendous on "Yes," "A Tree and Me" and the title track; and her scatting on "Jordu" is sensational. She alone elevates this to a 5-star album.



"Tree" belongs to Oscar Brown, Jr., and is the highlight of this set. The reason why is that Ms. Allyson's voice works best when singing melancholy, plaintive ballads (which was what "Ballads" was mostly about); and this tune, with very poignant lyrics about the meaning of death, is the one. But the late Mr. Brown also contributes an hilarious "But I Was Cool", and Ms. Allyson brings a smile to your face with the alternate wailing and "being cool."



And what would a new vocalese album be without the James Joyce of it all, Jon Hendricks? Jon sits in on his sweet "Strollin'" of Horace Silver, and sounds in remarkably good voice. He even whistles a chorus, bringing back memories of "Whistlin' at the Pretty Girls" of early L, H & R days.



And then the album ends on the highest of high notes, with Jon, Nancy and Karrin tradin' fours on one of the old L, H & R staples, "Everybody's Boppin'." This sounds as good, if not better, as the immortal version with Dave Lambert and Annie Ross. I guess it isn't going to happen, but a new ensemble known as "Allyson Hendricks and King" would be just fine by me!



This may not end up being the best of 2006, when all is said and done; but it has to be an early contender. Very highly recommended. RC"

An altogether classy, sweet and very artistic rendering of

Earl Hazell | New York | 06/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I discover Karryn Allison through this CD, and it is a happy discovery. I heard her rendition of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" while shopping for books in a Barnes & Noble type bookstore in the Midwest, and immediately went over and bought the CD.



My personal favorites:



-Dizzy's "Con Alma" opens the CD beautifully. Her rendition adds a melancholy introspection to a tune that I have traditionally heard instrumentally with an entirely impersonal to serene feel. As a singer myself I have sung this tune with jazz choirs in churches in Harlem as an alternative to the usual hymn (it means "with [the] soul" in Spanish).



-"When some girl asks for your number, never say yes..." both the trio accompaniment of the two women on this cut of "All You Need to Say" and the lyrics are just about flawless. The choices of both of them in their improvisations compliment these qualities--and each other--beautifully. This tune makes me happy, the way a kid with a funny secret surrounded by cool acting adults feels.



-I am a nut for brilliant rhythmic improvisation, reconnecting jazz to its African roots. This cut of "Lazy Bird," with a deceptive syncopation which took me a minute to figure out, shows once again the talent of this trio.



-As I said I bought the entire CD for the cut of "Footprints." A song as perfectly written and performed as this one (Wayne's Shorter's African blues written for and performed by the second great Miles Davis Quintet of the sixties) is, as history has shown, often too intimidating to other instrumentalists let along singers to express via their own voice. Karryn makes this song her own, betraying (for lack of a better word) much of the African rhythmic pulse of the original without in actuality decaffeinating its essence. This one in particular has her and the feel established overshadowing the quality of the lyrics, yet the pianism and the muted trumpet, combined with the unexpected duo work of her and the pianist, makes it hauntingly original and beautiful enough to inspire poetry.



-And I cannot short shrift the presence of the Master himself: "Everybody's Boppin'" has some solo work from special guest Jon Hendricks that is joyfully exquisite.



Not every tune on the CD lives up to these gems...but then isn't that true of most CDs?



As I trained opera singer as well as composer/arranger studied in jazz, Karryn's vocal technique worries me at times. She's too young to show the effect of straining in her voice that usually accompanies chain-smoking singers almost twice her age. (Someone even makes a comment about this being one of her somewhat unfortunate trademarks on the liner notes of the CD.) Both her youth and this unnatural strain are evident in her pretty voice on some of the cuts. The right voice teacher could not only get rid of that without replacing it with an inauthentic sound but ensure that her very special artistry is around for another few decades.



All in all I have played this CD many times since buying it and enjoy it immensely. I recommend this--and her--highly, and will be picking up more of her work in the near future.



"