Karen Akers

Karen Akers is a singer and actress who has long stood among the most distinctive voices in American cabaret, known for her dark, sumptuous contralto and her elegant, dramatic command of a lyric. Born in New York in 1945, she rose to prominence on the nightclub circuit in the early 1980s, earning a PBS special and a debut album before her first Carnegie Hall concert in 1983. On Broadway she created the role of Luisa in the original production of Nine, winning a Theatre World Award and a Tony nomination, and she later starred in Grand Hotel. She has appeared on screen as well, making her film debut in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo. A particular champion of French chanson and the theater song, she continues to bring her refined, intimate artistry to rooms like Birdland.