Karyn Malone began her professional singing career in the early 1970's as a
single parent raising two small children. At only twenty-two years old,
she would support her family by sitting in with various musicians and
playing in clubs. One-nighters became steady gigs so Karyn toured, mainly
in the Southeast and the Midwest, and she always brought her kids.
However, when offered a recording contract she declined because as they
grew older, it became more difficult for Karyn to tour with her children.
She then stayed home and took steady nightclub gigs in and around Atlanta.
Soon Karyn Malone's soaring vocal abilities became widely known throughout
Georgia. She was a staple in the music scene and found fans in such
luminaries as Jimmy Carter and Helen Reddy.
Throughout the seventies she sang everything from pop to blues to disco
music, but Karyn considers herself to be a vocal stylist whose first love
is jazz standards. Of the many bands with which Karyn Malone sang, The Hal
Buice Trio had the most influence on her style of singing. "He was a very
'bluesy' pianist," Malone says, "and I learned to sing accordingly."
During her time with the trio she discovered such great jazz vocalists as
Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald. She felt she'd connected with the vocal
style and it's still her favorite music to sing.
After she married the drummer from one of her bands Karyn put her career on
hold for several years to raise two more children. She began performing
again in 1998. Since that time Karyn has found that she enjoys singing
more than ever and has discovered a new freedom in her music. "I used to
sing because I had to support my children. Now I sing because of my
passion for singing of for the love of all of these great songs," she
explains. Karyn has released her first recording, a live,
full-length jazz CD called The Cocktail Sessions. The disc, a collection
of mostly jazz standards, was recorded at Eddie's Attic in Decatur,
Georgia. The Cocktail Sessions is available from SBS Records , the
independent label owned and operated by Karyn's daughter, musician Michelle
Malone. Karyn's husband Steve plays drums on the recording, her son
Christian plays guitar, and Michelle lends her sultry vocals on "The Look
of Love."
Michelle offers, "my mother has always had the most beautiful voice I've
ever heard and is musically my biggest influence. I always find the every
time I hear her sing I'm more amazed with all the things she can do with
her voice. I'm just as excited about putting out her record as I am about
releasing any of mine."
