Celebrating Vocalists

Thank you for participating in our Jazz Appreciation Month Listener Poll…today we celebrate jazz vocalists. Be sure to tune in to hear all of your favorites, including award-winning Catherine Russell.

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This celebrated jazz vocalist comes with a biological pedigree matched by few. Her late father, Luis Russell, himself a jazz pianist and bandleader, was Louis Armstrong’s musical director for many years. Her vocalist mother, Carline Ray, earned degrees from both Julliard and the Manhattan School of Music and was a member of the group International Sweethearts of Rhythm, particularly popular during World War II.

Their daughter, Catherine – perhaps their best collaboration — was born in 1956 in New York City. Before she sang a note, this future vocalist had deep roots in jazz and blues. The baby went on to graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and to develop a beautiful alto voice. Showing her flexibility in moving back and forth between genres, including country, she has recorded with Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Rosanne Cash, Steely Dan and Levon Helm. Between 2002-2004, she was a vocalist with David Bowie’s band. She has literally traveled the world with these artists, and has also played such American treasures as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center.

Russell has released five albums and, as of 2014, was the second best-selling female artist on multiple jazz charts. Her fifth album, “Bring It Back,”  received a 5-star review from Downbeat magazine. In it, she sings many jazz standards, often accompanied by a 10-piece orchestra, and the album also features musical collaborations between her father and Louis Armstrong.

Her adaption of the 1920’s song “Crazy Blues” was used in the HBO drama, Boardwalk Empire; it received a Grammy as part of “The Best Compilation of Standards for Visual Media.”

Perhaps All About Jazz sums it up best when it describes her voice as a “dusty, stalwart soulful instrument” that can withstand “comparison to her greatest fore bearers” in jazz. High praise for a vocalist whose genealogy may have given her a head start but, luckily for us all, the singer knew exactly what to do with it.