This time out, Catherine Russell and her swinging band -- Mark Shane & Larry Ham (piano), Lee Hudson (bass), James Wormworth (drums), Matt Munisteri (guitar, banjo), Larry Campbell (guitar, violin), Steven Bernstein (trumpet, cornet), Howard Johnson (tuba) Eric Lawrence (saxes), Rachelle Garniez (accordion) -- have channeled the robust, good-time essence of Southern juke joints and honkytonks, where confessing the blues could be every bit as good for the soul as getting frisky in the first place. The material, heard in arrangements inspired by Chick Webb, Hoagy Carmichael, Louis Armstrong, Harold Burrage and Ms. Russell’s own father, Luis, and much of it originally associated with legends like Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Nellie Lutcher, Pearl Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Lena Horne, harks back to tales of lusty, big-hearted women who knew what was what and spoke out accordingly. Nostalgic vignettes speak of how little time there is for what really matters, a sensuously unrepentant lady of leisure, a woman lamenting the culinary (and other talents!) of a departed lover and, memorably, a hapless man caught in the clutches of ruinous vamp named Luci. Through it all, Ms. Russell’s glorious voice reigns supreme, making every note count as she lovingly re-animates fourteen indelible songs for modern audiences.


"She was an unknown when she turned up at the Rochester International Jazz Festival last summer. But by the time she left town, Russell was the favorite of anyone who could squeeze into her two packed shows at High Fidelity. This is the second release by the extraordinarily charming singer, who delivers with the ease of Ella Fitzgerald. Some of the songs she did last summer are here, including her great take on Pearl Bailey's "I'm Lazy, That's All." Fans of sly sexual innuendo will howl over "Kitchen Man." And Hoagy Carmichael's "New Orleans" serves as an elegant reminder of how we turned our backs on a unique piece of American culture after Hurricane Katrina. " - Democrat & Chronicle