Alyssa Allgood, M.M.

Instructor of Jazz Voice

Named a “Rising Star Female Vocalist” in the 2024 and 2025 DownBeat Magazine Critics Poll and voted “Best Individual Jazz Musician” in the 2024 Chicago Reader Poll, Alyssa Allgood has captured attention for her dynamic vocal command, sophisticated songwriting, and captivating performances. Showcasing modern sensibilities, Allgood is a fearless vocalist known for her confident musical interaction, fierce improvisation, and vulnerable expression. DownBeat Magazine has praised her “boldness, swagger, and surefooted musicianship” while the New York City Jazz Record has recognized her “force, clarity and jazz integrity.”

Allgood is a highly sought-after clinician, ensemble director and adjudicator who uses her experience on the bandstand to empower students and nurture their artistic journey. Her teaching work has appeared at the Jazz Education Network Conference, the University of North Texas’s Jazz Lecture Series, the Illinois Music Educators Association, the Iowa Choral Directors Association, Anchor Music’s Vocal Jazz Academy, jazzvoice.com, the University of Chicago and many other prestigious institutions.

She regularly headlines the acclaimed Jazz Showcase, Green Mill and Winter’s Jazz Club in her Chicago homebase. Allgood tours frequently, having appeared at such esteemed venues as Dizzy’s and Birdland in NYC, Blues Alley in DC, Rudy’s Jazz Room in Nashville, The Century Room in Tucson and many others. Her 2024 release, From Here, is a powerful collection of original music recorded with internationally renowned musicians Geoffrey Keezer, John Patitucci, Kendrick Scott and Greg Ward. Two songs from the album were selected as finalists in the 2023 John Lennon Songwriting Contest and the 2023 International Songwriting Competition. Other notable awards include winning the Inaugural Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Voice Competition (2017) and being a semifinalist in the Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition (2015), where jazz icon Al Jarreau led the jury. 

Education

M.M. in Jazz Studies, DePaul University

B.A. in Jazz Studies & Organizational Communication, North Central College

Courses Taught

MUSC 142

MUSC 280

MUSC 290