Singer Allyson Displays Major Artistry

Name your singing style and there’s a pretty good chance that Karrin Allyson can handle it, and handle it well. Although she is nominally appearing at Catalina Bar & Grill this week in support of her recently released album, “Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane,” most of her late set on Wednesday was devoted to a stunning display of musical diversity.

Allyson already had offered a glimpse of that variety in the closing numbers of her opening group of songs, when she moved easily from a wordless rendering of Coltrane’s “Naima” to a bright, spirited, marvelously authentic samba interpretation of the whimsical Brazilian classic “O Pato.”

Her final collection of material reached into even more eclectic areas: a brisk, rhythmic romp through Benny Golson’s “Whisper Not” was countered by a passionately atmospheric reading of Jacques Brel’s “Ne Me Quitte Pas” (in Brel’s French-language version); Antonio Carlos Jobim’s bossa nova “So Danco Samba” was followed by a darkly humorous, cabaret-like song titled “Robert Frost.”

Allyson also was courageous to take on “Good Morning, Heartache,” a song virtually owned by Billie Holiday, and come close to making it her own, followed by a quietly appropriate, evening-ending number, Cole Porter’s “Every Time We Say Goodbye.”

She played piano on some portions of the program--”Good Morning, Heartache” was rendered with only her piano accompaniment--and sang other numbers accompanied by the superb backup trio of guitarist Danny Embrey (a longtime Allyson associate), bassist Tom Warrington and drummer Joe LaBarbera. In each case, her marvelous musicality was front and center, surfacing in the ballads via an expressive range of vocal timbres, and on the rhythm tunes via harmonically accurate, vigorously propulsive scat singing.

Add to all of that Allyson’s attractive appearance, her easygoing stage presence and her engaging personality, and one can only wonder why she has not yet broken through to the very top level of the jazz vocal category. It may be, ironically, that her repertoire range has tended to somewhat minimize her image as a jazz vocalist. And that would be a shame, because--with seven albums released and more than a decade of experience--Allyson has both the ability and the credentials to emerge as a major jazz artist.

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* Karrin Allyson at Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. Today and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 p.m., $18 cover. Today and Saturday at 10:30 p.m. and Sunday at 9:30 p.m., $16. Two-drink minimum. (323) 466-2210.