There are others who get more ink but, arguably, Catherine Russell is not only one of the best jazz singers, she is one our best singers, period. The daughter of famed bandleader Luis Russell, who arranged for Louis Armstrong, and the late Carline Ray, noted vocalist/guitarist/bassist who played with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm and Sy Oliver, is releasing her seventh album, Alone Together. Russell did not have a solo album until she had reached 50. Nobody has the musicologist knack for capturing the best music of the twenties through the fifties and make it sound so vital and so true to its origins. As on her 2016 release, the Grammy-nominated Harlem on My Mind Russell augments her road-tested quintet with additional players on horns, also adding strings for “When Did You Leave Heaven?”
It would be difficult to find a singer of Russell’s caliber in terms of range, versatility, emotion, and unerring phrasing. Yes, her phrasing is just impeccable and sets her apart from so many others. She’s doing what she loves – “blues infused jazz tunes because they enable me to freely express myself in the moment.” Truth be known, she could be singing almost anything. Performing as a backup singer, multi-instrumentalist, and lead singer before launching her solo career in 2009, Russell has appeared on over 200 albums. She’s worked with David Bowie, Steely Dan, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Levon Helm, and Rosanne Cash, to name just a few. She received a Grammy Award as the featured artist on the soundtrack of the HBO TV series Boardwalk Empire.
Unlike many singers, Russell doesn’t just pluck the familiar standards from the Great American Songbook. She digs deeper, as if there’s an “underground Great American Songbook” She knows that one and she certainly knows the bluesy jazz of the African-American Songbook. She continues to honor her musical royalty pedigree. Tunes here come from Irving Berlin, Eddie de Lange and Jimmy Van Heusen – along with writers from the Swing and Rhythm and Blues eras like Nat Cole, Louis Jordan, and Al Dubin and Harry Warren. She makes this music sound timeless and if one can glean any pattern to her chosen songs, many seem to deal with honesty (“You Can’t Pull the Wool Over My Eyes”), (“He May Be Your Dog, But He’s Wearing My Collar’), or a thread of questioning (“How Deep Is the Ocean?”), (“When Did You Leave Heaven?”) and (“Is You Or Is You Ain’t My Baby?”).
The core musicians that have been with her for over a decade now in her acoustic band are stellar guitarist and musical director Matt Munisteri, pianist Mark Shane, bassist Tal Ronen and drummer Mark McLean. Jon-Erik Kellso, who arranged three tunes, plays trumpet on seven. Another frequent collaborator, trombonist John Allfred, also plays on those tunes along with tenor saxophonist Evan Arntzen. The three-piece string section appears on “When Did You Leave Heaven?” Additional arrangements are from Mark Lopeman (five) and Munisteri (one). There are 13 selections. Russell swings, has fun with the tunes, and, as mentioned previously, will dazzle you with her phrasing throughout. Listen to “When Did You Leave Heaven?’, a tune recorded by Little Jimmy Scott, Louis Armstrong, and the late Nancy Wilson. Russell’s heartfelt reading makes love seem forever dream-like.
Speaking of Armstrong, there is a classy booklet enclosed with all the song lyrics and a foreword from Ricky Riccardi, the Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum and author of a book on Louis Armstrong. Riccardi first heard Russell in 2009 when she sang the obscure “So Little Time (So Much to Do),” done originally by Armstrong and her dad, Luis Russell, in 1938. Riccardi says, “Three minutes later the song ended, and I had a new favorite living singer.” He goes on to point out that this is Catherine’s first album for Dot Time Records, the same label responsible for the “Louis Armstrong Legacy Series” of previously unissued Armstrong recordings. “It’s almost poetic that Armstrong and Russell are once again connected in the 21st century on the same label.”
This is classy, impeccably rendered material as per Russell’s usual high standards. As Louis Armstrong said, “Don’t you worry what it is, just go out and enjoy it.”
Look for Russell’s tour as she will be appearing at various jazz festivals and venues this spring and summer. Notably, she has joined forces with the great guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli. They perform a salute to Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra, titled “Billie and Blue Eyes,” which has played to rave reviews globally.
