Catherine Russell
Nothing but Love Songs
Birdland, NYC, February 13, 2018
Reviewed by Alix Cohen for Cabaret Scenes
https://drugeriemarket.co.uk/wp-content/languages/new/sildenafil.htmljpg” alt=”” width=”212″ height=”212″ /> Catherine Russell
Catherine Russell is a sure thing in an unstable world. You know that voice will emerge pristine, powerful, controlled, often archly hip, enmeshed in tradition, packaged with swank. There’ll be no wailing during blues, nothing sentimental about a ballad. She’s unflappably who she is. You can be sure material will be treated with respect. “People ask what I look for in a song—it’s irony.”
You can also be sure musicianship will be top notch: Matt Munisteri (also music director), Mark Shane, Tal Ronen, Mark McLean, Jon-Erik Kelso, and Evan Arntzen comprise a wish-fulfilled band. Kelso and Arntzen partner like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, taking turns dancing backwards in heels.
An infectiously cheerful instrumental arrangement of “Bourbon Street” precedes “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby?” (Louis Jordan/Billy Austin).
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As always, Russell makes vernacular sound natural. She’s annoyed, impatient. There’s no plea here. The vocalist peppers lyrics with occasional call-outs and seamlessly speaks a phrase. It’s called communication.
“My Man’s an Undertaker” (Leroy Kirkland/Mamie Thomas)—”You better stop knocking on my door at night…/Cause my man’s an undertaker/And he’s got a coffin just your size…”— arrives a wry warning as the vocalist points, leans back, rolls a shoulder and steps. Munisteri’s guitar strings shimmy, Kelso’s trumpet chides.
“Do What You Did Last Night” (Andy Razaf/James C. Johnson) takes the raised eyebrow further. Russell does provocative particularly well. She bounces with anticipation. Arntzen and Kelso musically walk the walk, as if hips and trailed feather boa. A wah-wah/wowza number. “Try to find something like that written today. “Can’t do it,” Russell notes.
Cecil Grant’s “I Wonder” is a slow dance. Long, melodic phrases are joined by staccato comment. Shane’s piano trills, questions, muses. The artist’s hand finds its way to her chest.
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“…I wonder little darlin’…,” “when you reach a certain age, love means more to you,” she reflects. Johnny Otis/Preston Lowe’s “Aged and Mellow”—”I like my men like I like my whiskey/Mmm, aged and mellow!…”—is sassy, sultry, and very Russell.
Jitterbugs “Swing! Brother, Swing!” (Clarence Williams/Walter Bishop/Lewis Raymond) and “I’m an Errand Boy for Rhythm (Send Me)” (Nat King Cole) are in Russell’s permanent repertoire. Kelso’s physically evocative trumpet whirls, lifts, slides, jiggles, turns. Munisteri takes it tight and fast, yet every note is clear. McLean’s drums pull at one’s bobbing head and tapping foot as if marionette strings. A bit of spiraling scat zips by doodling in the air.
“Alone Together” (Howard Dietz/Arthur Schwartz) and “When Did You Leave Heaven?” (Richard Whiting/Walter Bullock) are as close as Russell gets to balladic tonight. In the first, rhythm is thrum/thrum while lyrics stretch like taffy. A back-of-the-throat hum connects. Kelso’s trumpet is sweet. The second solicits Arntzen’s serenading sax. Mmmmmm.
Irving Berlin’s “Harlem on My Mind,” loosely based on Josephine Baker, is also the title of one of Russell’s terrific CDs. She performs this song/plays this “scene” like no one else. The story begins as if musical theater then sashays into jazz-with-lag.: “I’ve got Harlem on my mind/And I’m longin’ to be lowdown/And my, ‘Parlez-vous’ will not ring true/With Harlem on my mind.” From “mon cheri” to “hi-dee-ho!” (the latter, an expression no living vocalist may emit with more authenticity), Russell makes the singer a believable character.
The room was packed. I’d venture to guess that everyone left feeling better.
