Catherine Russell is Jazz Royalty

Singer Catherine Russell is jazz royalty, a queen of jazz, soul, and blues. Her crown comes not only from her immense talent as a vocalist and performing on more than 200 records (including seven of her own), but also from her lineage. Her father, Luis Russell, besides being a groundbreaking Panamanian-American composer/arranger, pianist, and orchestra leader, served as Louis Armstrong’s musical director for eight years starting in 1935. The pair went their separate ways when Russell reformed his own big band in 1943. Russell’s mother, Carline Ray, also made a name in jazz as a singer and instrumentalist with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. She joined the band after graduating from Julliard and earning a Master’s Degree from the Manhattan School of Music. With these two musical titans as parents, it seemed like destiny that young Catherine would enter the ranks of jazz, though Russell says she didn’t see music as a “career path.” “I was just doing whatever I was doing,” Russell tells The Syncopated Times. “I didn’t think I was going to make a living doing this. I was just kind of going along and music was in school then so it wasn’t like a thing. It was just part of your training like math or anything else.” Young Catherine did cross paths frequently with many of the greats of jazz including Armstrong, who would visit their home in New York