Karrin Allyson a Winning Bet at Catalina Bar & Grill

Singer Karrin Allyson’s Grammy nomination in the jazz vocal category earlier this year didn’t result in an actual award. But it did signal her arrival at the top level of the genre.

Tuesday night at Catalina Bar & Grill, Allyson, making one of her regular appearances at the venue, offered an opening set that amply illustrated both the quality and the variety of her art.

Allyson did not--as is the case with many performers--use her appearance as an opportunity to hype her latest album, the soon-to-be-released “In Blue” (Concord Jazz). Although she included a few tunes from the new CD--Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’ ” and Blossom Dearie’s “Bye Bye Country Boy” among them--she also peppered the set with material reaching across the full extent of her far-ranging musical interests.

Allyson’s appeal is based on a relaxed, attractive onstage demeanor; superb musicality; an intuitive sense of what material best fits her style; and a natural feeling for jazz’s rhythmic undercurrent.

All those qualities were on display Tuesday night. Garbed in an elegant black pantsuit, her blond hair in her characteristic boyish bob, Allyson alternately roved the stage or accompanied herself on Catalina’s new nine-foot Yamaha piano. She wittily opened “Moanin’ ” with a few blues cries of her own, and found the humor in “Bye Bye Country Boy.” The bossa nova classic “O Pato” was delivered with marvelously lighthearted buoyancy, subtly driven by the guitar work of Danny Embrey. And Allyson’s poignant version of “Good Morning, Heartache” affirmed her ability--even when dealing with a factor as powerful as Billie Holiday’s association with the song--to find her own distinctive path.

She was well aided by her longtime associate Embrey, as well as pianist Bill Cunliffe, bassist Tom Warrington and drummer Joe LaBarbera. But Allyson was the show, and her talent portends that a Grammy win should be just a matter of time.

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Karrin Allyson at Catalina Bar & Grill, 1640 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Tonight at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. $16 cover; Friday at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., $18 cover; Saturday at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., $20. Two-drink minimum. (323) 466-2210.