Local Music Feature: All in the family

I’ve never had aspirations to be a star. I was just a working musician with two children to support, says singer Karyn Malone. Now one of those children, Michelle Malone, a working musician who has made quite a name for herself, is returning the favor and releasing her mother’s first album, The Cocktail Sessions, on her SBS label. “My mother is my biggest influence,” says Michelle, “she’s taught me so much.”
Karyn laughs, “yes, but she didn’t listen to any of my advice. She followed her own path. She didn’t have to do the lounge circuit, and I’m glad.”
A former member of the Atlanta Symphony Chamber Chorus and currently active in church ministries, Ma Malone played lounges and clubs across the Southeast in the ’70s. “In those days you could work a room for six months or more,” she recalls. Malone would mix Top 40 hits and standards and occasionally fronted a disco band. “The disco period was fun, but my real love is the jazzy standards of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.”
The Cocktail Sessions, a collection of lounge-y favorites recorded live at Eddie’s Attic in July, is Karyn’s chance to sing the songs she loves. “We recorded it live and it’s a live show, all right,” Karyn says with a chuckle. “We only rehearsed the day of the show, and I was very nervous. I think I made Michelle nervous, too.”
Several members of the musical Malone family will join Karyn on stage. “My grandmother can still wail, too,” says Michelle, “but she’s in Florida and can’t come to the show.” Still, Karyn Malone promises a good time and some improvised family duets.
“I’m proud of my mother. I just want everybody to come out and have a good time with us,” says Michelle. “Bring your mom, I’m going to.”
Karyn Malone’s CD-release party is Oct. 6 at Eddie’s Attic.