Catherine Russell – Sentimental Streak

At the time of her debut Cat, released a couple years ago when she turned 50, Catherine Russell was already an accomplished singer with an extensive array of credits. Having grown up with musician parents (her pianist father, Luis Russell, served as Louis Armstrong’s music director, and her mother, Carline Ray, a vocalist and bassist, worked with Mary Lou Williams), she is well versed in a wide swath of 20th-century music. Her repertoire draws from a rich American tapestry of small combo jazz, Tin Pan Alley tunesmithing, New Orleans swagger, and more. Russell’s supple voice has the confident wallop and sashay of Albert Hunter as she moves easily from songs by Willie Dixon to Yip Harburg. Her band sports a number of players who celebrate traditional repertoires saddled alongside modern inclinations, including trumpeter player Steven Bernstein, saxophonist Erik Lawrence, and guitarists Matt Munisteri and Larry Campbell.