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.

Allison returned to New York City in 2019 under producer Matt Pierson to revisit her pop-punk past and record her fourth album “RETRO Trilogy”. These 18 re-imaginings of 3 decades of music from the 1970s, 80s, 90s including an original song, will be rolled out in 3 separate EPs of 6 tracks each ("1977", "1988", "1999") across streaming platforms, and then released as one digital and physical album. Musicians include GRAMMY winner Kevin Hays piano/rhodes/melodica, Bill Frisell's touring power duo Tony Scherr bass/guitars and Kenny Wollesen drums/vibes, Yotam Silberstein guitar, Peter Sprague guitar, and Bashiri Johnson (touring percussionist for Michael Jackson, Sting, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin...) Arrangements by Allison, Kevin Hays, Josh Nelson, Danny Green, Yotam Silberstein, and Peter Sprague. 

Allison’s love for connecting communities with world cultures and music has led her to produce annual world jazz events for the last 16 years in various cities, including Brasil Jazz Festa, Women in Jazz, International Jazz Day, Vocal Jazz Summit, and Django Jazz Fest. Allison continued these event traditions during the pandemic with her “GARDENSTREAM Live” series on YouTube with over 30 live-streamed concerts broadcast from various garden spots in Southern California, Florida, and the UK. 

As a session artist, Allison's voice can be heard on various album collaborations, 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 has resulted in a cult following by the typically "non-jazz listening" gamer audience, causing her interpretation of "La Vie En Rose" to become one of the top downloads on iTunes and streaming music services worldwide. 

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, and Lucca Jazz Donna Festival Tuscany, among others.

Awards

Nominated Best Jazz Album 2009, San Diego Music Awards

Nominated Best Jazz Artist 2014, San Diego Music Awards 

Nominated Best Jazz Artist 2022, San Diego Music Awards