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Karrin Allyson (pronounced KAR-in; 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."Holden, Stephen. "Peeling Back Folk Rock to Reveal Hidden Jazz." New York Times. November 5, 2005
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. Biography and Profile in UNO Alumni Association Magazine (Spring 2001), pp. 8-11 In 2022 she was award an Honorary degree Doctor of Fine Arts degree from The University of Nebraska Omaha.
Allyson sings in English, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish. The songs she performs are drawn from a variety of genres, including bossa nova, blues, bebop, samba, , and other jazz modalities, and also , traditional pop, the Great American Songbook, soft rock, and folk rock. She has also recorded vocal performances of several instrumental jazz compositions, using both scat singing 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: Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane (2001), Footprints (2006), Imagina: Songs of Brasil (2008), 'Round Midnight (2011), and (2015)
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