Catherine Russell Set To Sing At The Broad Stage

Catherine Russell

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage will present GRAMMY® Award-winning vocalist Catherine Russell on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. Russell moved from singing backup to such icons as Paul Simon and David Bowie into the spotlight, and she’s stayed there ever since. The vocal dynamo dazzles her audiences, interpreting jazz favorites and forgotten blues treasures with soul, humor and stunning range.

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. Russell launches fearlessly into each tune, getting inside the melody and capturing every emotion. Her repertoire features a selection of gems from the 1920s through the present; vital interpretations, bursting with soul and humor. With an off-the beaten-path song selection, sparkling acoustic swing, and a stunning vocal approach, Catherine Russell joins the ranks of the greatest interpreters and performers of American Popular Song.

Since the 2006 release of her debut album, Cat (Harmonia Mundi's World Village label), Russell has received critical acclaim, making new fans and friends along the way. National Public Radio’s top five jazz CDs of 2006 as chosen by WBGO's DJs included Cat, and the album garnered rave reviews worldwide.

“She is a fresh and original voice." wrote Sinatra biographer, Will Friedwald, who picked Cat among his top 10 CDs of the year. “It’s a delight to hear the real thing in Catherine Russell" chimed in Nat Hentoff in The Wall Street Journal.

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.” In 2013, Catherine contributed 3 songs to the soundtrack album for the movie “Kill Your Darlings,” starring Daniel Radcliffe as a young Allen Ginsberg. Russell received a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Harlem On My Mind, her sixth solo studio album, which was released in September 2016 and featured songs from the Great African American Songbook.

Catherine Russell released her latest album, Alone Together, in March 2019 on Dot Time Records. Alone Together held the number one position on the JazzWeek 2019 Year-End chart for national airplay and earned Russell her second GRAMMY® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

The Wall Street Journal and Terry Gross of NPR called Catherine Russell one of the best jazz and blues singers today.

Jazz & Blues at The Broad Stage made possible by a generous gift from Richard & Lisa Kendall.

Pre-Show Event

There will be a pre-show “Spotlight Talk” at 7:00pm with Santa Monica College faculty member Dr. Lesa Terry. Dr. Terry is a vanguard of contemporary musical interpretation and an artist whose creative genius consistently brings distinctive innovation to musical performance. Her accomplishments include membership with the Atlanta and Nashville Symphony Orchestras, as well as performances, lectures, clinics and master classes with the Uptown String Quartet, the Max Roach Double Quartet and as a professor of jazz history at Santa Monica College in California.

All Music Guide says, “Russell emerged as a retro old school vocalist for the ages.”

Catherine Russell, The Broad Stage, 1310 11^th St. Santa Monica CA 90401, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 22, $49 and up, www.thebroadstage.org, 310 434-3200. Box office is located at 1310 11^th St. Santa Monica CA 90401 beginning three hours prior to the performance.  Parking is free.