Harlem On My Mind Catherine Russell

• 1 Harlem On My Mind 04:17
• 2 I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me 04:11
• 3 Swing! Brother, Swing! 02:34
• 4 The Very Thought Of You 05:06
• 5 You've Got The Right Key But The Wrong Keyhole 03:55
• 6 Don't Take Your Love From Me 04:52
• 7 Blue Turning Grey Over You 03:12
• 8 You're My Thrill 04:43
• 9 I Want A Man 03:56
• 10 When Lights Are Low 04:51
• 11 Talk To Me 03:21
• 12 Let Me Be The First To Know 05:04
• 13 Goin' To Town 03:00
• Total Runtime 53:02

Info for Harlem On My Mind

With her sixth album, Harlem On My Mind, Grammy® Award-winning vocalist Catherine Russell journeys to the blue heart of the great African American songbook. Swinging forth with soulful interpretations, Russell taps the golden age of Harlem, as befits this vibrant daughter of jazz. Vocalists Ethel Waters, Billie Holiday, Etta James, and Dinah Washington provide inspiration where tunesmiths like Benny Carter, Irving Berlin, Andy Razaf and Fats Waller once ruled the roost of a renaissance which continues to reverberate. Of the title track, Russell says, “It’s about not forgetting your roots,” which also serves as her modus operandi for the entire 12 song collection. “The album is comprised of songs from artists who played at The Apollo in Harlem, where all African American artists of note appeared.”

Russell is a native New Yorker, born into musical royalty. Her father, the late Luis Russell, was a legendary pianist/composer/bandleader and Louis Armstrong’s long-time musical director. Her mother, Carline Ray, was a pioneering vocalist/guitarist/bassist who performed with International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Mary Lou Williams, and Sy Oliver. Russell notes, “My mother was born and raised in Harlem and my father led one of the leading orchestras in Harlem, which was part of the inspiration for this album.”

Harlem On My Mind showcases Russell’s honey rich voice in a variety of settings. “I love working with saxophonist/arranger Andy Farber,” says Russell, and here Farber contributes five arrangements for tentet, featuring six horns, including Jon-Erik Kellso and Alphonso Horne on trumpets, John Allred on trombone, and Mark Lopeman and Dan Block on reeds. Her smaller groups swing equally hard, sometimes with fewer horns and sometimes stripped down to her road tested rhythm section, including musical director/guitarist/banjoist Matt Munisteri, pianist Mark Shane, bassist Tal Ronen, and drummer Mark McLean. Don’t Take Your Love From Me features a special guest appearance by tenor saxophonist Fred Staton, of the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, who was 100-years-old at the time of the recording session, playing beautifully. Throughout, Russell and her band shine, whether serving up dollops of aural comfort food, or go for the rafters explosion of fun.

2016 has been an eventful year for Catherine Russell. In January, Russell was featured in an hour-long concert performance on Public Television’s American Songbook as part of the NJPAC series. In February, Russell joined the fellow members of David Bowie’s last touring band, as well as pop-singer Lorde, for a moving Tribute to David Bowie at the 2016 Brit Awards. In April, Russell appeared at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. to sing the grand finale at the 2016 NEA Jazz Masters Award Ceremony, and then traveled to Los Angeles for a live taping of Radio Deluxe with John Pizzarelli. Her concerts, “Catherine Russell: Sunny Side of The Street”, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room in April, which saluted her personal connection to Sy Oliver, were featured on NPR’s “Jazz Night In America.” To support the new album, extensive worldwide touring is slated for the 2016-17 season, including a tour in December 2016 as guest vocalist with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on their annual Big Band Holidays tour.

Catherine Russell, lead vocal, background vocals (on track 11)
Matt Munisteri, guitar, banjo (on track 5), music director (on tracks 1, 7, 9)
Mark Shane, piano
Tal Ronen, bass
Mark McLean, drums
Jon-Erik Kellso, trumpet (on tracks 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 12)
John Allred, trombone (on tracks 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 12)
Mark Lopeman, tenor saxophone (on tracks 3, 11), baritone saxophone (on tracks 2, 4, 8, 10, 12), clarinet (on track 5)
Andy Farber, tenor saxophone (on tracks 2, 4, 8, 10, 11, 12)
Alphonso Horne, trumpet (on tracks 2, 4, 8, 10, 12)
Dan Block, alto saxophone (on tracks 2, 4, 8, 10, 12), clarinet (on track 8)
Special guest:
Fred Staton, tenor saxophone (on track 6)

Catherine Russell
is a New Yorker, born into musical royalty. Her father, the late Luis Russell, was a native of Panama who moved to New Orleans and then New York City, becoming a pioneering pianist/composer/bandleader, and Louis Armstrong's long-time musical director. Her mother, Carline Ray, an outstanding bassist and vocalist, has performed with Mary Lou Williams and International Sweethearts of Rhythm. Considering her roots and family pedigree, it’s no surprise that Catherine Russell is a one-of-a-kind singer and musician. Cat is in demand as a backing singer and multi-instrumentalist, having performed and recorded with artists including Steely Dan, Levon Helm, David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, Michael Feinstein, Carrie Smith, and Rosanne Cash.

Of her debut album "Cat", (World Village/Harmonia Mundi), she made critic and Sinatra biographer, Will Friedwald's top 10 list who stated "She is a fresh and original voice. The most exciting debut album I've heard in a long time." "It's a delight to hear the real thing in Catherine Russell", wrote the dean of jazz writers, Nat Hentoff, in The Wall Street Journal.

Catherine Russell's second album on World Village, "Sentimental Streak", was released in 2008 to universal acclaim, hitting the Billboard and I-Tunes Jazz Charts, and JazzWeek and Living Blues Radio Charts. Cat was a guest on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and NPR's "Fresh Air". She won the prestigious German Record Critics' Award in the Jazz category and Living Blues magazine's 2008 critics' poll as "Artist Deserving More Attention." L'Acadamie du Jazz in France chose "Sentimental Streak" as finaliste for Prix du Jazz Vocal 2008, while Grammy Award winning writer and jazz critic Francis Davis picked "Sentimental Streak" as Vocal Album of the Year in the 2008 Village Voice Jazz Critics Poll.

Since the release of her albums, Catherine Russell has performed on three continents. She's been the surprise hit at major events including the Chicago Blues Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Bern Jazz Festival, Rochester International Jazz Festival, Tanglewood Jazz Festival, Lotus World Music Festival, I Love Jazz Festival in Brazil, Panama Jazz Festival, and at premier venues like The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, The Dakota in Minneapolis, and Yoshi's in San Francisco. All Music Guide says, "Russell emerged as a retro old school vocalist for the ages."

Catherine Russell's "Inside This Heart of Mine" is a personal selection of gems from the 1920s through the Present; vital interpretations, bursting with soul and humor. Deepening the approach of her previous recordings -- an off-the-beaten-path song selection, sparkling small group acoustic swing, and a stunning vocal approach -- with "Inside This Heart Of Mine", vocalist Catherine Russell joins the ranks of the greatest interpreters and performers of American Popular Song.

Strictly Romancin', released in 2012, is a paean to natural attractions; to a lover, an art form, and to one’s family heritage. Our faithful heroine explores love’s foibles, failures, and bliss, from amorous to humorous, embodying the lost art of song savvy, inhabiting the lyric, and allowing each melody to shine. On this 14 song collection, this ever soulful jazz/blues vocalist takes us on a journey; from Harlem dance hall, to Parisian Café, to Store Front Church, to New Orleans Gin Joint, to Uptown Cabaret, blurring distinctions between the carnal and the eternal, in a musical tour de force. Strictly Romancin' was awarded Prix du Jazz Vocal (Vocal Album of The Year) by the Jazz Academy in France, Grand Prix du Hot Club de France, and a Bistro Award for Outstanding Recording, after reaching #1 on multiple Jazz Charts (JazzWeek, I-Tunes, Amazon), and #6 on Billboard. She also received a Nightlife Award as Outstanding Jazz Performer.

In 2012, Catherine Russell won a Grammy Award for her appearance as a featured artist on the soundtrack album for the HBO TV series Boardwalk Empire.

Catherine's 5th album, "Bring It Back", will be released in February 2014 on the Jazz Village label, a new imprint from Harmonia Mundi.

Catherine Russell is that rarest of entities – a genuine jazz and blues singer – who can sing virtually anything. Her voice is full blown feminity incarnate; a dusky, stalwart and soulful instrument that radiates interpretive power yet remains touchingly vulnerable. She launches fearlessly into each tune, getting inside the melody and capturing every emotion.

Booklet for Harlem On My Mind