Catherine Russell
(born 1956) is a contemporary jazz and blues vocalist. Her father, the
late Luis Russell, was Louis Armstrong's long-time musical director, and
her mother, the late Carline Ray, held degrees from both Juilliard and
Manhattan School of Music and performed with the International
Sweethearts of Rhythm during World War II. From 2002 through 2004,
Russell worked with David Bowie as a band member, providing backing
vocals and featured contributions on guitar, keyboard and percussion for
Bowie's Heathen Tour, A Reality Tour, and his late-2003 album Reality.
With the 2004 suspension of Bowie's touring career, Catherine signaled a
new dedication to her solo career as a leading jazz and blues singer,
and respected interpreter of popular and forgotten standards. Five fully
conceived and excellently produced albums have followed, about one
every two years, supported by an extensive touring schedule in Asia,
Australia, Europe and the US. With Russell's deep and genuine roots in
jazz and the blues, a reputation for talent and quality performances,
significant exposure in the country's jazz and other music venues
(including Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center), Russell has become
well known in jazz circles and, as of January 2014, was the second
best-selling female artist on several jazz charts.
Russell's cover of the 1920s song Crazy Blues was used in Episode 10,
Season 1 of the HBO drama Boardwalk Empire. This song was included on a
soundtrack recording that won in 2012 for Grammy Award for Best
Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 54th Grammy Awards.