ABOUT
Born in San Diego, California, multi-lingual jazz vocalist Allison Adams Tucker began singing before she could speak. Allison was raised by classically trained musical parents, and began performing in front of audiences at age 5. She studied piano, flute, violin, dance and voice from elementary school and holds a BA in Linguistics / Music Vocal Performance and an AA in Italian. Allison's vocal palette has been colored by her experience in a variety of musical genres throughout her life, from folk and pop to a cappella Elizabethan madrigals to punk rock to country to commercial jingles. In 2005 Allison “discovered jazz” as her new musical home and fell in love with its freedom of expression, intellectual tilt, and inclusion of all international music cultures. She applies its concepts to all genres of music she sings today.
Growing up on the border with Mexico, Allison was exposed to intermingling cultures and her love for languages and world cultures also began at an early age. She has studied and sings in 6 languages besides her own, lived in Japan and Spain, and has traveled to over 15 countries. This "wanderlust" is present in the music she chooses today— with rhythms, melodies, and lyrics of Brazil, Italy, France, Latin America, Japan, and the US. Music is the universal language and Allison is all about the human connection through music.
Allison's debut album "Come With Me" (Allegato Music 2008), co-produced by jazz guitarist Peter Sprague (Dianne Reeves, David Benoit, Chick Corea, Sergio Mendes) and arranged by GRAMMY winner Kamau Kenyatta (Gregory Porter, Hubert Laws, Earl Klugh, Patti Austin), received international acclaim, was nominated for Best Jazz Album 2009 by the San Diego Music Awards, and continues to receive airplay on radio stations in 18 countries. Musicians include Kamau Kenyatta piano, Evona Wascinski bass, Dylan Savage drums, Fabio Oliveira percussion, Louisa West flute, Reiko Obata Japanese koto harp, Ray Suen violin, Derek Cannon trumpet, Patrick Berrogain French guitar, Danny Green Brazilian piano.
Allison's sophomore album "April in Paris" (Allegato Music 2014) celebrating songs of springtime from around the world, was recorded in Paris on UNESCO's 1st Annual International Jazz Day at the end of a 9-concert tour through Italy & France with international musicians and arrangers from five countries. Musicians include Emmanuel Massarotti piano/rhodes, Evona Wascinski bass, Julie Saury drums, Mirko Guerrini saxophones/Peruvian flute, Ze Luis Nascimento percussion, Louise-Emmanuelle Dorche violin, Peter Sprague guitar, and Lou Fanucchi accordion. Arrangers include Allison, Kamau Kenyatta, Danny Green, Emmanuel Massarotti, and Jovino Santos Neto.
Given 4 stars by DownBeat Magazine, Allison's third album "WANDERlust" (Origin Records 2016) was recorded in New York City under the direction of GRAMMY-winning producer Matt Pierson (Brad Mehldau, Milton Nascimento, Joshua Redman, Jane Monheit, Samara Joy). WANDERlust features a stunning all-star ensemble that not only bridges west and east coasts but adds flavors from around the world. Allison and acclaimed Los Angeles pianist Josh Nelson are joined by New York jazz heavy-hitters Chris Potter bass clarinet/tenor sax/flute, Mike Moreno guitar, Scott Colley bass, and Antonio Sánchez drums, along with percussionist Rogério Boccato and guitarist Romero Lubambo (both from Brazil) and French guitarist Stéphane Wrembel. The songs on WANDERlust are musical postcards from distant points of interest, from Rome to Paris to Takeda, Japan- and even destinations that exist purely in the mind's eye.
Allison returned to New York City in 2019 under producer Matt Pierson to revisit her folk-pop-punk past and record her fourth album “RETRO Trilogy” (Allegato Music 2023): 18 jazz re-imaginings of 3 decades of music from the 1970s, 80s, 90s, by David Bowie, Queen, The Cure, Sting and more, and including an original song started as a poem to recite at the book release of “Home: Where Everyone Is Welcome” by Deepak Chopra and Kabir Sehgal, and then turned it into music at the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park NYC. RETRO Trilogy was rolled out as 3 separate decade EPs across streaming platforms ("1977", "1988", "1999"), and then released as one digital and physical album. RETRO Trilogy includes four official music videos - one released in tandem with each EP, and one with the full album. Musicians include Kevin Hays piano/rhodes/melodica, Tony Scherr bass/guitars and Kenny Wollesen drums/vibes, Yotam Silberstein guitar, long-time collaborator and mentor Peter Sprague guitar, and Bashiri Johnson percussion. Arrangements by Allison, Kevin Hays, Josh Nelson, Danny Green, Yotam Silberstein, Peter Sprague, and the band collectively.
As a session artist, Allison's voice can be heard on national tv commercials and on the video game "The Saboteur" soundtrack singing French jazz in the company of Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Madeleine Peyroux, & others. This resulted in a cult following by a typically "non-jazz listening" gamer audience, causing her interpretation of "La Vie En Rose" to go viral. It remains a favorite on digital music platforms worldwide today.
As an international artist, Allison has entertained audiences in Japan, Europe, Mexico, and the US, including performances in the Blue Note New York, Ronnie Scott's London, Herb Alpert's Vibrato Los Angeles, San Jose Jazz Fest, The Jazz Kitchen Indianapolis, Idyllwild Jazz in the Pines Festival, East Hawai’i Jazz & Blues Festival, Takatsuki Jazz Street Festival Osaka, Body & Soul Tokyo, Le Baiser Sale' Paris, Music Inn Rome, Lucca Jazz Donna Festival Tuscany, among others.
