Associated Press photo
Catherine "Cat" Russell is the kind of singer who introduces her sidemen before she sings a note and names the composer before she sings a song.
She grew up in the music biz — her dad, Luis Russell, was Louis Armstrong's music director and pianist; her mom, Carline Ray, is a singer/multi-instrumentalist. Russell has made her living chiefly as a backup singer to the likes of Paul Simon, David Bowie, Jackson Browne, Rosanne Cash, Michael Feinstein and Cyndi Lauper. Russell knows about the names in the fine print in the album notes and who contributes what.
She didn't launch her solo career until she was nearly 50 (her fourth album is due this winter). And she can make more money touring with Steely Dan for six months than in playing a year's worth of solo gigs.
With Steely Dan on hiatus, Russell has hit the road, with a visit to the Dakota Jazz Club on Monday. Backed by a terrific trio (especially guitarist Matt Munisteri), the proudly old-fashioned, personable New Yorker demonstrated her knowledge and authority with material from her father's era — blues and jazz from the 1920s to the '50s.
Nearly every song in the 85-minute set received an informative introduction: "this is a Dinah Washington song" or "a pre-scat Ella Fitzgerald did this with Chick Webb." Russell knows her stuff and sings with impressive versatility. With the precise enunciation of a Broadway star, she hit lots of blue notes but not always her black notes.
Russell did find her inner soulfulness on Washington's sassy "My Man's an Undertaker," a deep, slow-burn reading of Willie Dixon's "Spoonful," Jackie Wilson's R&B stomp "I'll Be Satisfied," Washington's slow, sultry blues "In the Dark" (on which she seemed to be channeling Ray Charles) and the encore of Bessie's Smith's playful "Kitchen Man" (which Russell inhabited) and the swinging "I'm Checking Out — Goodbye" (on which her trio was cooking).
There's no question that this backup singer belongs front and center.
