Grammy-nominated vocalist Catherine Russell never intended to end up here.<\/p>\n
The much-lauded and diversified singer initially set out to be a dancer; Friday, Oct. 10, she\u2019ll sing her heart out onstage at Ann Arbor\u2019s Blue Llama Jazz Club. (She doesn\u2019t dance anymore.)<\/p>\n
Jazz singer Catherine Russell.<\/p>\n
For Russell, this will be her first Ann Arbor show in about 15 years, and her first at the Llama.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always do a mix of some songs I\u2019ve recorded, some that I haven\u2019t recorded \u2013 things that I might potentially record,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it\u2019s all a mix of jazz and blues from different eras. What keeps it fun is good material. I like to search for what I think is very interesting material \u2013 good melodies, good lyrics, fun atmosphere \u2013 so that the band is having a good time. So that the audience has a good time when they listen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I also like different vocal vocabularies, so I\u2019m not singing everything the same way. We\u2019ll go from a 1920s blues, which is sung differently than a swing tune from the \u201830s, which is sung differently from a blues from the \u201850s, that type of thing. I like a diverse experience for people, and for me and the band.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russell comes from a distinct jazz legacy: Her father, the late Luis Russell, was a renowned pianist, composer and bandleader who also served as Louis Armstrong\u2019s longtime musical director. Her mother, Carline Ray, was a trailblazing vocalist, guitarist and bassist, known for her work with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Mary Lou Williams and Sy Oliver.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always had a lot of music playing in the house,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThe first jazz that I really heard was my father\u2019s recorded music, when I was very young, so that was music from the 1920s. We had a radio in the kitchen, so we listened to everything. Herbie Hancock\u2019s \u2018Maiden Voyage,\u2019 which was station break music on a radio station we used to listen to quite a bit. And then we listened to what we\u2019re now calling the Great American Songbook, all the popular singers from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald on another station, WNEW-AM.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really liked the sound of 1950s Miles Davis, for example. That was exciting. My mother was knowledgeable about everything, including opera and all eras of classical music, too. So we really listened to everything when I was growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n
This path has been full of surprises for Russell, who did not originally intend to be a singer and in fact put studied with the iconic Katherine Dunham\u2019s dance academy as a youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know (I wanted to sing) until much later, because I had an ear for music, but translating that into singing in front of people \u2026 that took a long time. I didn\u2019t really want to be the center of attention or anything like that. Some people naturally want to be in front of people and perform, but I started as a dancer, so I was one person in a dance troupe; it wasn\u2019t like a featured thing. Much later, I sang in choirs, so that\u2019s not a featured thing, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then, when I was in college, I joined the Reverend Daryl Coley\u2019s choir, The New Generation Singers, because I was living in California at the time. Daryl really gave me the opportunity to lead a song in front of the choir, which was terrifying. But he said, \u2018No, I want you to do this.\u2019 So he really threw me into the deep end of the pool for the first time, developing my voice and teaching me that I could sing lead, which I didn\u2019t know before that.\u201d<\/p>\n
After graduating with honors from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she went on to tour and record with an impressive roster of artists, including Carrie Smith, Steely Dan, David Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, Michael Feinstein, Levon Helm, and Rosanne Cash. Her voice can be heard on more than 200 albums.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t make her debut recording as a solo jazz singer until 2006, launching to rave reviews.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was touring with David Bowie,\u201d she said, \u201cand then at the end of touring with him in 2004, my business partner and then-fianc\u00e9e said, \u2018You know, there\u2019s one thing you haven\u2019t done: your own albums.\u2019 I didn\u2019t know if that was a good idea, but he had a friend in the Chicago area with a studio who put a band together for me. So, we went out there and recorded.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are really looking forward to coming to Ann Arbor,\u201d she said. \u201cI will have my band: Matt Munisteri, who\u2019s my longtime musical director and guitarist, Ben Paterson on piano and Tal Ronen on bass. I\u2019ll have a nice, swinging trio. The people will love them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to it; I\u2019ve missed playing in that town for a long time. I\u2019m grateful for the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine Russell<\/h2>\n
Blue Llama Jazz Club<\/strong><\/p>\n 314 S. Main St., Ann Arbor<\/p>\n Friday, Oct. 10<\/p>\n 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Tickets start at $50<\/p>\n