Catherine Russell On Mountain Stage Her father was Louis Armstrong's musical director in the 1930s. Her mother still plays the bass. So it's no surprise that Russell has chops. She sings a set of bluesy numbers and standards for Mountain Stage.

Catherine Russell On Mountain Stage

Listen Now: Catherine Russell On Mountain Stage

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Set List

  • "This Joint Is Jumpin'"
  • "Back O' Town Blues"
  • "New Orleans"
  • "Darn that Dream"
  • "Kitchen Man"

Catherine Russell's mother and father were both jazz musicians. Brian Blauser hide caption

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Brian Blauser

Catherine Russell comes from a family of highly trained and successful jazz musicians. Her late father, Luis Russell, was a composer, arranger, pianist and longtime musical director for Louis Armstrong. Her bassist and vocalist mother, Carline Ray, still performs in New York and has two performance degrees. So it's no surprise that Russell can sing.

Russell sang with a laundry list of pop stars — David Bowie, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne — before releasing her debut album (Cat) in 2006. Her latest record, Sentimental Streak, features full-band arrangements, as she mines old songs and making them her own.

At Mountain Stage, Russell takes the audience on a musical journey that starts in the juke joint, swings through "New Orleans," stops by Broadway and comes to a close with a song about the culinary talents of her "Kitchen Man." She performs here with pianist Mark Shane.