Raves for Cat (World Village/Harmonia Mundi) Catherine Russell's debut cd

"After listening to a continuous stream of releases by purported rising jazz singers - who couldn't have lasted through a chorus in a contest with Ella Fitzgerald or Betty Carter - it's a delight to hear the real thing in Catherine Russell... at the center of gravity that has always kept the music alive is 'the groove' that Cat Russell embodies."
-Nat Hentoff, The Wall Street Journal

"She is a fresh and original voice. Cat is the most exciting debut album I've heard in a long time." -Will Friedwald, New York Sun

"It's not every singer who can comfortably handle material by Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee, Sam Cooke, and The Grateful Dead... but Catherine Russell isn't just any singer... her sheer talent places her in the elite of new songstresses like Madeleine Peyroux, Lizz Wright, and Norah Jones."
-Steve Futterman, Barnes and Noble.com

"Catherine Russell stands out from the crowd…it's a joy to hear someone singing outside the usual box of standards. She's one of the more adventurous - and friendly - singers mining the seem of jazz-blues."
-Chris Nickson, All Music Guide

"…Incredibly Talented and Classy…"
-Andrew Aber, The Village Voice

"This is one album that raises the standard for standards!"
- Jonny Meister, WXPN

"Russell delivers the brightness of expression and personality we've been waiting for, reinventing a little heard song in a new and exciting way."
- David Freeland, Blues Revue

"The best thing about Catherine Russell and her new CD is that she's great....a top flight Jazz and Blues singer...Her's is one powerful and convincing voice."
- Grammy Award winning Jazz Historian, Phil Schaap, from Cat liner notes

"Her primary instrument is a rich voice - smoky, brassy and unflailingly assured in it's delivery. Call her a jazz singer if you must categorize, but Russell is so adept at wrapping her voice around everything…she can truly be labeled a great interpreter of the American Song."
- Todd Whitesel, Goldmine

"…an enticing acoustic take on blues, jazz, folk, even country and soul…delightful song selection…with a pureness that is true to tradition."
- Marlee Walker, Blues To Do

"On Cat, Catherine Russell goes straight to the soulful, swingin', sexy-smart heart of the matter. Russell's grace and artistry shine through on every note of this eclectic, groovy mix."
- Christine Ohlman, Elmore Magazine

"Cat is a consistently involving and surprising recording that marries jazz-informed, rhythmically sophisticated and varied singing to instrumentation more associated with country - from mandolin to pedal steel to banjo."
- Barry Mazor, No Depression

"She has an infectiousness that not only spurs the band on, but also grabs the listener by the ear...a wonderful debut."
- Tad Hendrickson, JazzWeek Pick of the Week

"…she delivers a pastiche of jazz, pop, blues, deep soul, and torchy cabaret with daunting technical precision and heart-stopping intensity."
- David Whiteis, Chicago Reader

"Russell has a terrifically supple voice that's very nicely showcased on 15 songs that encompass the breadth of American Music…an impressive debut."
- Miles Jordan, Chico News & Review

"...the daughter of jazz pioneer Luis Russell has a long resume...she's finally done her own debut album and it's glorious. Russell needs to be on the Jazz Festival next year."
- Mike Regenstreif, Montreal Gazette

"...a glorious genre-defying debut CD...the proof is in her music - a mix of jazz, blues, soul, and country elements blended with breathtaking ingenuity...consistently imaginative...there not a track that doesn't sparkle with musical surprise."
- Lee Hildebrand, Living Blues

"We can't say enough good things about this young vocalist…Russell sounds like a true original. Fans of the female voice in any genre should run out and get this album"
- Soundroots.org

"The music is a mix of swing jazz, country, acoustic blues and torch songs that will appeal to fans of both Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux. Yet this seasoned veteran brings more gravitas than the latter and an infectious sense of fun often missing in the former."
- Newark Star Ledger

"Russell is blessed with a voice as big and authoritative as Linda Ronstadt's, the uncorked energy of early Motown (predominantly Mary Wells, with a little Tammi Terrell on the side) and the brass of Dinah Washington."
- Christopher Loudon, JazzTimes

"The breezy, free-swinging approach to jazz singing is something of a lost art…light and lively, "Cat" is proof positive less can be more."
- Kevin B. Convey, The Boston Herald

On her overdue debut, "Cat," she brings a refreshingly rootsy, almost sunny quality to jump blues, Patsy Cline-like country, swing jazz and folk-pop. A highlight is "Back O' Town Blues," which her father, bandleader Luis Russell, wrote for his boss, Louis Armstrong.
- Jon Bream, The Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St. Paul

"Traversing the rich, alluvial terrain between the poles of blues and country swing, Catherine Russell charges and shimmys through barrelhouse and society cabaret alike, taking us to the rooms where jazz was born."
- Jackson Browne On Cat

Catherine Russell Concert and Festival Reviews

Montreal Jazz Festival 2007, Montreal, Quebec CANADA

A Spicy and Sexy Dish
"...we had the opportunity to hear the American chanteuse Catherine Russell. This former singer for David Bowie and Steely Dan served up a strong and spicy dish of blues, jazz and soul. From Sam Cooke to Otis Redding to several beautiful jazz standards, this was certainly one of the most exciting shows on an outdoor stage..."
Christophe Rodriguez, Le Journal De Montreal, Sunday July 1, 2007
(largest circulation French Language newspaper in North America)

Rochester International Jazz Festival June 2007, Rochester, NY

"...she might have won the Festival's Rookie of The Year Award with a relaxed, almost giddy personality, perfect song choices, a huge smile, and an even bigger voice. Russell is Ella Fitzgerald...she is Alberta Hunter reincarnated, channeling Sam Cooke's "Put Me Down Easy" and Bessie Smith...when she was done, everyone in the audience wanted to hug her."
- Jeff Spevak, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

American Beauty Project, New York, NY, January 2007

"Catherine Russell...was the concert's discovery...wistful, sultry rhythm and blues. She sang "New Speedway Boogie" over a jazzy bass vamp...in a skeletal arrangement that only heightened the song's philosophical reflections."
Jon Pareles, New York Times, January 22, 2007

Tulip Festival, Albany, NY, May 2007

"The main stage featured contemporary trumpet master Chris Botti and jazz/blues singers Kevin Mahogany and Catherine Russell. Sassy jazz and smoky torch songs were Russell's forte, and she showed she's good at what she does. The big-voiced singer did well with the rollicking "My Man's An Undertaker" and the lovely "Put Me Down Easy".
Michael Lisi, Albany Times Union

Tanglewood Jazz Festival 2006, Lenox, MA, Johnny Mercer Tribute:

"Dr. John’s set was a feel-good mix of classics from his own book and Johnny Mercer’s. Singers Ann Hampton Callaway, Catherine Russell (daughter of Louis Armstrong’s onetime musical director, Luis Russell ), John Pizzarelli and Irma Thomas took turns joining him for the latter, with Russell outshining the others with her solo version of “Moon River” and her duet with Dr. John on the comic “Save the Bones for Henry Jones.”
- Bill Beuttler, JazzTimes

Syracuse Jazz Festival 2006, Syracuse, NY

"The New York City native wowed the crowd with her deep, rich, powerful voice...she's a star in the making." Mark Bialczak, The Post-Standard

"Singer Catherine Russell showed off an impressive vocal approach."
Syracuse NewTimes

"The crowd was totally into her and her band. She commanded the stage in every way."
- Eric Cohen, Music Director, WAER - FM

"Catherine Russell was absolutely incredible. She stole the show and blew everyone away."
- Frank Malfitano, Festival Director, Syracuse Jazz Festival

Lotus Festival 2006: Bloomington, Indiana

“...a few unique performances stood out at the annual Lotus Festival, which drew record-setting crowds in its 13th year. Catherine Russell, a blues and jazz singer who performed at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Friday, delivered one of those performances. Her cool attitude and off-beat lyrics, including the song "My Man's An Undertaker", made for a great crowd pleaser. Russell brought her first solo album, Cat, and within minutes after her concert, it had sold out."
- Lindsey Landis, Indiana Daily

Freihofer's Jazz Fest 2006, Saratoga Springs, NY

"Catherine Russell was an R&B hit...with class and a strong flexible voice."
R.J. DeLuke, AllAboutJazz.com

JVC-NY Jazz Festival 2005, Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center, NY, NY, Tribute to Doc Cheatham:

"It was opening night of the JVC-New York Jazz Festival...sweet, bright, lyrical music, with swing's sharpening edge. The singer Catherine Russell joined the band for 'I Cover The Waterfront' and others..."
- Ben Ratliff, New York Times

Concert to honor the launch of Yip Harburg Postage Stamp 2005:

"Catherine Russell's musicality, vocal beauty, versatility and power; her deep understanding of lyrics and ability to make them her own, her brilliance joining lyrics and music together in song are unsurpassed in my judgment."
- Ernie Harburg, President, Yip Harburg Foundation

Charlie Parker Jazz Festival 2002, NY, NY:

"Russell was electrifying with a big, sometimes gospel-tinged voice, and a highly rhythmic delivery."
- Ira Gitler, JazzTimes

"Catherine Russell immediately established herself as one of the great acts in the ten years that I was associated with the festival. While fully conversant and respectful with the jazz tradition, Catherine brings her own voice and aesthetic to the music... one of the great vocalists of her time."
- Sam Turvey, Director 1993-2002 - Charlie Parker Jazz Festival