Jazz vocalist and composer/lyricist Aimée Allen is known for her warm, sensual vocals that are both grounded and ethereal, and her soulful, poignant original songs that mix poetic lyricism with rich harmonies and rhythms. She has released 6 critically acclaimed albums. Her latest Love and the Catalyst was nominated for a 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album – Vocal. Her prior release, Wings Uncaged was named a Best of 2019 by Downbeat Magazine. Her repertoire of her own compositions and fresh takes on jazz standards engages listeners.
She will treat audiences at The Sound Room to an evening of jazz standards and her own originals accompanied by an all-star band including John R Burr on piano, Gary Brown on bass, and David Rokeach on drums.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, vocalist Aimée Allen's intimate connection with music began as a child. Her childhood was scored with classic jazz, because her mother kept selections from the tradition on the family turntable. Though singing was a part of her childhood, Aimée first began singing professionally with jazz a cappella groups in college. After graduation, Aimée (pronounced “em-ay” or “M-A”) moved to Paris where she performed regularly in jazz clubs and festivals. The deep relationship between the francophone audiences and Brazilian bossa nova, led Aimée to form Les Bossa Novices, a Paris-based group dedicated to bossa and jazz.
Aimée now performs regularly in New York City and frequently tours abroad. Standards and bossa are part of her repertoire, but now an accomplished composer, she also sings her original songs, many of which have become audience favorites. Her original music has been licensed for feature film and network television. She has sung with many renowned jazz musicians including Romero Lubambo, Ron McClure, François Moutin, Roswell Rudd, Ari Hoenig, Joel Frahm, and Yomo Toro. She has also conducted student workshops on songwriting and jazz performance.
Review from The Jazz Word
Aimée Allen is a vocalist and songwriter who has been turning many heads in recent years as she grows her substantial creative album catalog. Allen’s latest release, Love & the Catalyst, presents her refined original modern jazz music along with innovative arrangements of selections from the jazz cannon. Allen’s original music is intense musically and compelling lyrically. Her lyric themes include the wisdom of change and the catalytic agents that bring it about. Transformation, large and small, personal and collective, social and scientific. Allen will delight listeners in her lyrics about the alchemy of romance explored through the surprisingly sensual metaphors of science and the cosmos. This social conscience songwriter is a Nominee for the 54th Annual NACCP Outstanding Jazz Album – Vocal category.
Tickets at Aimée Allen Jazz Quartet