Karrin Allyson to return as part of 47th annual Topeka Jazz Concert Series

Karrin Allyson, who performed several times in Topeka during the early days of her rise to international jazz stardom, will return as part of the 47th annual Topeka Jazz Concert Series.

The four-time Grammy Award nominee will perform one of the series’ nine concerts, each of which will be presented from 3 to 5 p.m. on a Sunday in the Regency Ballroom of the Downtown Ramada Hotel and Convention Center, 420 S.E. 6th.

Although the jazz concert series is the longest continuously running one in the nation, dating from 1969, this will be the first year not using the Topeka Jazz Workshop Inc. Concert Series moniker, said Steven Waugh, TJW Inc. president, who cited two reasons for the name change.

“We have had some prospective members admit to being reluctant to join when we simply called it the Topeka Jazz Workshop as they were afraid they may be required to bring instruments and play in the ‘workshop,’” Waugh said. “We wanted to clear that up.”

The other motivation, he added, “It may afford us the opportunity down the road to add another concert series with a different focus that we are exploring.”

The cost of season tickets will remain unchanged at $145, putting the price at just over $16 a show. Single season subscriptions purchased before the Sept. 27 season opener include two guest passes.

College and high school students can attend any single concert in exchange for a $5 donation to the TJW scholarship fund. Middle school students accompanied by a TJW member also can take advantage of the student admission option.

The series also offers a variety of premium and corporate memberships, portions of the costs of which are tax-deductible. Details are available at www.topekajazz.com.

Here is the 2015-16 season lineup:

¦ Aug. 30: The Topeka Jazz Workshop Band, with Jim Oatts, trumpet. The Topeka Jazz Workshop Band, which shares its roots with the concert series but is a separate entity, will again perform the season-opening program. Under the direction of Ryan Simpson, the popular big band’s guest performer will be Des Moines, Iowa-based trumpet player Oatts, leader of the Des Moines Big Band who has performed with the American jazz rock band Chase, Stan Kenton Orchestra, Woody Herman and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra.

¦ Sept. 27: Karrin Allyson. Born in Great Bend, Allyson studied classical piano at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, where she was a member of an all-female rock band named Tomboy and developed an interest in jazz, which she furthered after graduating and moving to Minneapolis. However, it was in Kansas City where Allyson began to gain a national, then international, reputation as a jazz vocalist. Allyson, who moved to New York City more than 15 years ago, will accompany herself on piano and will reunite with her original band of drummer Todd Strait, guitarist Rod Fleeman and Bob Bowman and Gerald Spaits, each playing a set on bass.

¦ Oct. 11: Aaron Weinstein and Matt Munisteri, violin and guitar. Weinstein, who in his three previous series appearances demonstrated to diehard jazz fans the viability of the classical violin in the hands of a true jazz artist, will be partnered with Munisteri, who will be making his Topeka debut. Munisteri has been described as “a sparkling guitarist, a wry yet honest singer, and someone always guaranteed to swing like mad.” Spaits on bass will round out the trio.

¦ Nov. 15: Pete Christlieb and Linda Small, tenor saxophone and trombone. Based in Los Angeles, Christlieb is a series veteran whose face may be recognized by people who aren’t jazz fans as it was often seen on Doc Severinsen’s band on the “Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” The multiple Grammy nominee will be bringing with him his wife, Small, who plays a red-hot trombone. They perform together in the Tall and Small Band, a 10-piece big band. For their Topeka gig, pianist Roger Wilder, Spaits and Strait will back the couple.

¦ Dec. 6: The New Red Onion Jazz Babies. Waugh said booking the New Red Onion Jazz Babies comes in response to TJW members requesting some Dixieland as part of the season offerings. Under different names and with some lineup changes, the band has played Dixieland jazz for more than 30 years at various Kansas City venues.

¦ Jan. 17: Todd Wilkinson’s Unusual Suspects. Wilkinson, a jazz educator and a mean tenor saxophonist and player of other reed instruments, is well known to area jazz fans, as are the members of the ensemble he has assembled for the Topeka Jazz Concert Series: Joe Cartwright on piano, Kansas City Jazz Orchestra leader Clint Ashlock on trumpet, Jeff Hamer on trombone, Steve Rigazzi on bass and drummer Michael Warren.

¦ Feb. 21: The Foundation 627 Big Band. Waugh said this booking also comes from a request by TJW subscribers, this one for more big band music. Director and tenor saxman Steve Lambert will present his 13-piece band which takes its name from one of Kansas City’s most historic sites, Local 627, which from 1917-70 was an African American musicians union known as the Mutual Musicians Foundation. Its building in the historic 18th and Vine district is a national landmark.

¦ March 20: Jim De Julio and Larry Fuller, bass and piano. De Julio, from Los Angeles, and Fuller, from New York, will join Kansas City drummer John Kizilarmut to form a classic jazz trio. De Julio, a consummate bassist, backed many music greats, including Frank Sinatra in his later years. Fuller was the last pianist in the legendary Ray Brown trio, and more recently, has worked with drummer Jeff Hamilton and guitarist John Pizzarelli.

¦ April 17: Stan Kessler’s All Star Jazz Sextet. Concert series veteran Kessler, who plays trumpet and flugelhorn, often has been seen in Topeka fronting groups like Sons of Brasil, a Brazilian jazz troupe, and HoraceScope, a Horace Silver tribute act. However, to wrap up the Topeka Jazz Concert Series, he will bring his newest group, which includes vocalist Monique Danielle, pianist Roger Wilder, tenor saxophonist Matt Otto, bassist Jeff Harshbarger and drummer Brian Steever.