KARRIN ALLYSON

REVIEWS //

A KISS FOR BRAZIL //

A Kiss for Brazil
Karrin Allyson (Origin)
by Fred Bouchard
There’s a catchy earworm refrain for “Wave”, a
consequence of Antonio Carlos Jobim writing the
English version of “Vou Te Contar”. The music and
lyric of “The fundamental loneliness goes when two
can dream a dream together” helped nudge a sly,
sibilant tsunami throughout global music in the ’60s
via the new form of bossa nova. In A Kiss for Brazil,
five-time Grammy nominee Karrin Allyson catches
this wave with the grace and gusto of a Rio surfer,
her third album dedicated to Brazil’s musical glory,
with her widely-spaced prior albums being From
Paris to Rio (1999) and Imagina (2008).
The genesis of A Kiss for Brazil began when Allyson
learned that Rosa Passos was passing through New
York, and so invited the veteran Brazilian singer-
guitarist-composer to cut a few tracks. The result was
Passos contributing to two of the album’s ten tracks.
“Month of March in Salvador (Dunas)” is a relaxed,
breathless bouncer, with Passos wistful yet piquant
and both amiably weaving scat on the fade. Passos
sings Jobim’s “O Grande Amor”, fragile and resilient
as an orchid, while Allyson translates on the second
chorus as Passos floats a wispy vocal filigree, leading
to a graceful sharing of the final chorus. The opener,
Djavan’s “Flor de Lis”, unveils Allyson’s meticulous
command of the Brazilian ethos, a tender-tough vibe
with impassioned scatting. Other hits emerge as the
band cozies up: a smoldering “The Island”, a lilting
“So Many Stars” by the Bergmans and late Sérgio
Mendes (sweet accordion!), and Allyson running
kittenish to joyous shout on Luiz Bonfá’s mega-hit
“Manha de Carnaval”.
Your reviewer first encountered the redoubtable,
exuberant bassist Harvie S in 1975, deeply engaged
in another power duo–with vocalist Sheila Jordan.
Then as now, S responds all-in with empathy and
passion, and solos on “The Gift” and the warm coda,
a duo (Allyson on piano) of Benny Carter’s “Only
Trust Your Heart”. (The bassist also recommended
the studio and even pitched in with the mixing.)
Graciously complementary bandmates are Vitor
Gonçalves (keyboards, accordion), Yotam Silberstein
(guitar) and Rafael Barata (drums). “Antigua”,
a particularly juicy exercise in Jobim’s lyric-free
pixellic acrobatics, elicits the band’s best: Barata’s
cymbal wash, Gonçalves’ delicate piano, Silberstein’s
gently bluesy guitar.
Each track brings smiles to the ear and celebrates
Brazil’s musical buoyancy, catching Jobim’s wave
and dreaming their dreams together.
For more info visit originarts.com. The album release
concert is at Birdland Oct. 29-Nov. 2.

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JAZZ AROUND TOWN by Scott Yanow
KARRIN ALLYSON
Karrin Allyson’s annual visits to Catalina Bar & Grill are always well worth attending.
While she recorded her debut album back in 1992, she is still very much in prime form 32 years later.
At Catalina’s she was joined by the very talented pianist Miro Sprague, bassist Karl McComas-Reichl,
and drummer Dan Schnelle.

Since the singer’s most recent album is A Kiss For Brazil, she included several Brazilian numbers that
she sang in Portuguese and English including Ivan Lins’ “The Island,” “Wave,” “Double Rainbow,”
“So Many Stars,” and “Manha de Carnaval.” In addition to her always very alluring voice, Karrin Allyson
showed that she remains one of jazz’s top scat-singers, utilizing scatting to uplift and add excitement to
some of the songs. On a few numbers she played piano while Sprague switched to an electric keyboard;
their trading off and interaction on “Double Rainbow” was particularly memorable. In addition, Ms. Allyson
performed a few non-Brazilian tunes including the blues strut “You’ve Got To Be Taught,” the pop ballad
“I Can Do Anything As Long As I Know You Love Me,” her joyous original “Wrap Up Some Of That Sunshine,”
a cooking “Happy Talk,” and a duet with Sprague on a heartfelt version of “Say It Over And Over Again.”
Karrin Allyson should never be taken for granted. She remains one of the greats.

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Wild Mercury Rhythm
(Origin Records, 2024)
C. MICHAEL BAILEY
AUG 4
Origin Records

In 2001, singer Karrin Allyson released a near-perfect jazz concept album in Ballads:
Remembering John Coltrane (Concord Music Group). Well known for her fine song
programming, Allyson released a string of recordings right after that: In Blue (Concord
Music Group, 2003), Wild For You (Concord Music Group, 2004), and ‘Round Midnight
(Concord Music Group, 2011), among others. The singer has always had a fondness for
the music of Brazil, having previously released From Paris To Rio (Concord Music Group,
1999) and Imagina: Songs Of Brazil (Concord Music Group, 2008). Allyson completes a
Brazilian trilogy with A Kiss For Brazil. This project grew out of the intersection of Allyson
with Brazilian asset Rosa Passos the pair having agreed to record a couple of songs that
neither knew what would happen with. The resulting two songs replicated into a full album
after the band— Allyson led them through eight more tunes, including works by such titans
as Djavan, Ivan Lins, and Luiz Bonfá as well as Jobim. The singer’s and her accompaniment’s
performance of Jobim’s “Wave” features Vitor Gonçalves’ Fender Rhodes, a sound that
gives the song a timeless feel. Allyson is joined by Rosa Passos on the original composition
“Month Of March In Salvador (Dunas)” and Jobim’s elegant “ O Grande Amor.” The singers
trade verses and languages over Passos’ piquant rhythm guitar and Gonçalves’ accordion on the
former and piano on the latter. Karrin Allyson is a beautiful creation and her talent reminds
us that there are many fine singers but few exceptional ones.