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Allison Adams Tucker

4 stars, DownBeat Magazine"Powerful singer"
JazzTimes"Light and buoyant, her voice is remarkably fresh, its purity underscored by considerable depth and sagely shaded hues”
LondonJazzNews"Marvellous articulation, great tonal accuracy, and dynamic drive"
San Diego Union Tribune
 “Thoroughly arresting”

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 a cappella Elizabethan madrigals to punk rock to country to commercial jingles. Since 2005 Tucker has found the most natural fit to be jazz. In jazz she found a freedom of expression and intellectual tilt she hadn’t experienced in other genres.

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. For Allison, it's all about the human connection, and music is the universal language.

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 award-winning 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 received airplay on radio stations in 18 countries. 

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. Arrangers include 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 at historic Sear Sound in New York City under the direction of GRAMMY award-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 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. WANDERlust hit #12 on US JazzWeek radio charts (one of only two vocal albums) and charted for 8 weeks.

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6
Album Review

Allison Adams Tucker: WANDERlust

Read "WANDERlust" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Many modern-day jazz vocalists have been known to touchdown in a few different locales over the course of an album, but few to none get their passports stamped in as many places as Allison Adams Tucker does on the aptly named WANDERlust. Tucker brings her multilingual brilliance and cultural savvy to the fore during this expertly planned travelogue. Tucker's voice is a beautiful instrument--one that floats, flies, and seduces with its no-fuss delivery--and she makes great use ...

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Performance / Tour

Vocalist Allison Adams Tucker Performs At The Blue Note Sunday Brunch January 17, 2016 In Connection With JazzConnect & APAP Conferences In New York

Vocalist Allison Adams Tucker Performs At The Blue Note Sunday Brunch January 17, 2016 In Connection With JazzConnect & APAP Conferences In New York

Source: Mouthpiece Music

Allison Adams Tucker, the California-based multi-lingual jazz vocalist, will perform at the Blue Note Sunday Brunch in jny: New York City on January 17, 2016 for two sets at 11:30am & 1:30pm. Tucker will be previewing selections from her upcoming album WANDERlust, as well as presenting a program of Brazilian-infused jazz tunes that she sings in six different languages. Her New York appearance is timed to coincide with the annual JazzConnect and APAP Conferences that week as she showcases her ...

1

Performance / Tour

Allison Adams Tucker Spends "April In Paris" For Jazz Tour

Allison Adams Tucker Spends "April In Paris" For Jazz Tour

Source: Allison Adams Tucker

If Allison Adams Tucker’s new album, April In Paris, radiates a certain international chic, it’s because the San Diego vocalist recorded her second solo album in the City of Love with a cast of international musicians and arrangers — on UNESCO’s first International Jazz Day. The multi-lingual jazz artist (she can sing in six languages) was also on her last leg of a major European tour. Since its June 3 release, April In Paris has been good to Tucker, hitting ...

1

Performance / Tour

World Jazz Vocalist Allison Adams Tucker Releases New Recording “April In Paris”

World Jazz Vocalist Allison Adams Tucker Releases New Recording “April In Paris”

Source: Two for the Show Media

"With a voice supple, agile, and bright, she executes each song on the tracklist with ease and imagination, creating a serene atmosphere that leaves you smiling." —Eva Simontacchi for Jazzitalia Multi-lingual vocalist Allison Adams Tucker is celebrating the release of her second CD “April in Paris” on June 3, 2014 – Songs of springtime and new beginnings from around the world. The album was recorded in Paris on UNESCO’s 1st International Jazz Day at the end of her last Europe ...

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Recording

Jazzitalia CD Review: Allison Adams Tucker "Come with Me"

Jazzitalia CD Review: Allison Adams Tucker "Come with Me"

Source: Michael Ricci

Allison Adams Tucker - Come With Me Kamau Kenyatta - piano/arrangement; Peter Sprague - guitar; 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 Adams Tucker - vocals “an exceptional slice of music from all corners of the world performed by one of the better vocalists around..."

183

Festival

Local Musicians Organize Second Brasil Jazz Festa

Local Musicians Organize Second Brasil Jazz Festa

Source: Michael Ricci

By JIM TRAGESER, North County Times San Diego, CA Allison Adams Tucker, left, sings during the 2008 Brasil Jazz Festa at the Encinitas Library. It was a shared love of Brazilian music--particularly Brazilian jazz--that led a group of local musicians to pull together last fall's initial Brasil Jazz Festa. Reaction was so positive that they've decided to make it an annual event, with the second iteration Nov. 22 at Encinitas Library.

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Performance / Tour

Allison Adams Tucker: Leucadia Singer Took the Road Less Typical

Allison Adams Tucker: Leucadia Singer Took the Road Less Typical

Source: All About Jazz

Beginning one's music career as a punk rocker at a Christian school in Indiana is probably not the most typical route to becoming a jazz singer. But it is the route Leucadia's Allison Adams Tucker (performing Nov. 21 at the Beach House and Nov. 23 at the Encinitas Community Library) has taken.

“I just came full circle after the disco era and punk and rock," she said by phone earlier this week. “I've tried it all and jazz was where ...

★★★★ "A powerful singer"
— Scott Yanow, DownBeat Magazine
“Translucent, inviting vocals… a memoir written for a younger self with sympathy and intelligence, RETRO Trilogy makes for revelatory listening whether or not you happened to be around.” 
— Andrew Gilbert, JazzTimes
“Thoroughly arresting” 
— George Varga, San Diego Union Tribune
“Voluptuous Brazilian blues, breathtaking lyricism, angelic and resonant, looping vocalese… She turns the beat around to her own thoughtful tempo and timbre, and reaches out for your hand.” 
— Carol Banks Weber, Coggie’s Ink
"...Light and buoyant, her voice is remarkably fresh, its purity underscored by considerable depth and sagely shaded hues, suggesting Tierney Sutton by way of Karen Carpenter."
— Christopher Loudon, JazzTimes
"Marvellous articulation, great tonal accuracy, and dynamic drive"
— John Watson, LondonJazzNews
"Rich, soothing..

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Primary Instrument

Vocals

Location

San Diego

Willing to teach

Beginner to advanced

Credentials/Background

Bachelor of Art degree in Linguistics with Minor in Music Vocal Performance. Over 20 years of teaching experience abroad and in the U.S. Specializing in jazz, pop, musical theater, R&B, blues, country, and children's music for students of all levels and ages.

  • Find your voice & build confidence.

  • Improve vocal issues and vocal health.

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Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

RETRO Trilogy

Allegato Music
2023

buy

WANDERlust

Origin Records
2016

buy

April in Paris

Allegato Music
2014

buy

Come With Me

Allegato Music
2008

buy

Tropicalia

From: RETRO Trilogy
By Allison Adams Tucker

The Wind

From: RETRO Trilogy
By Allison Adams Tucker

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