Listening time has been sparse recently, but I have one good one to report on. Vocalist Catherine Russell and her excellent band have released their first live album, Live @ Jazz at Lincoln Center, and it delivers a delightful dose of Russell’s spirited interpretations of hot jazz and swing deeply rooted in the blues.
If you are unfamiliar with vocalist Catherine Russell, do yourself a big favor and check out her latest release, Send for Me, available here. If you are familiar with her, you have probably stopped reading by now and are on your way to to pick up this stellar release, if you haven’t already.
For me, Catherine Russell is the Hank Jones of vocalists. Like the late pianist, she carries the entire history of jazz and blues in every phrase she delivers—from New Orleans to Muscle Shoals, from the Brill Building to Harlem. It’s the canvas for her vocal paints and brushes. Like Jones, her every line moves with an understated elegance and a heart-lifting swing to tell a story—the whole story. Her latest album, Alone Together, gives us a singer at the top of her game, backed by a terrific band perfectly matched to her intentions.
Continue reading
The title of the latest from Omar Sosa and Paolo Fresu is Eros, and that god accompanies Catherine Russell through her latest release, Harlem on My Mind. Continue reading
Catherine Russell, Bring It Back (Jazz
Village/harmonia mundi)
A Review
Vocalist Catherine Russell has more than 100 years of American musical history in her voice, and she comes by it honestly. Her
father, Luis Russell, was Louis Armstrong’s bandleader and arranger from 1935 through the early forties, and her mother, Carline Ray, played guitar in the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. As modern as Russell is—after all, she’s backed up everyone from Steely Dan to David Bowie to Rosanne Cash for years—when she sings in front of her band, it’s a history lesson, and never was school so much fun. Continue reading