Playing cello in grade school, singing in choir and madrigal groups in high school, and studying music and theater in college were some of the stops along the way before Karen Gallinger reached her destination as a jazz singer. She started her jazz career in 1975 performing with guitarist Carl Verheyen. In the '80s she opened for such notables as Tony Bennett, Toni Tennille, and Kenny Rankin. During the '90s she appeared at jazz festivals in Fullerton and Costa Mesa and Santa Ana, California. Gallinger has appeared at Costa Mesa's The Bash every year since 1985. She also played the lead in the 1996 musical Is It Just Me or Is It Hot in Here. In 1991 she was the featured vocalist with the John Parker Big Band Tribute to Duke Ellington, an all-star band which included veteran jazz masters Buddy Collette and Plas Johnson. With two albums under her musical belt, the Live at the Jazz Bakery (1997) and My Foolish Heart (1998), Gallinger demonstrated a facility to deliver a wide variety of songs in a variety of styles, among them swing, blues, and contemporary pop with a jazz flavor. Possessing Sarah Vaughan-like range, having the ability to move easily and effectively between octaves, and with fine phrasing and diction, Gallinger has established herself as a must-hear jazz diva. ~ Dave Nathan