In the Jazz Tradition: Catherine Russell

Thursday, December 6, 2018 | 7:00 pm

BUY TICKETS

Thursday, December 6, 2018 | 9:00 pm

BUY TICKETS

The Fruit

The ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ Package, which provides access to all 14 ‘In the Jazz Tradition’ sets at Durham Fruit & Produce, including performances by Nnenna Freelon, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Nellie McKay, Catherine Russell, Jazzmeia Horn, René Marie, and Kate McGarry, is now on sale. Packages are available for purchase online, via phone at 919-684-4444, and in person at the Duke University Box Office, Monday through Friday, 11 AM to 6 PM.

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Catherine Russell was born into jazz royalty. The daughter of Luis Russell, Louis Armstrong’s longtime music director, and Carline Ray, who collaborated with the great Mary Lou Williams and played guitar for the legendary International Sweethearts of Rhythm, the New York native was raised on the best jazz the world had to offer. But Russell took a long detour to a career as a jazz singer, spending decades supporting others with her warm and flexible voice, whether touring and recording with David Bowie or singing background vocals for hundreds of albums. In 2006, Russell finally stepped into the spotlight with the first of a string of six sterling records, eventually returning to the jazz of her youth on 2016’s immaculate Harlem on My Mind. Russell has become one of jazz’s most versatile and dynamic performers, whether her voice is drifting over lonesome piano or belting over a barrelhouse band. She can be flirtatious, even lascivious, harkening back to the heyday of Bessie Smith; or slinky and seductive, channeling the ardor of the great torch singers who populate her regal jazz lineage.

“A wonderfully charismatic performer with a show-stopping voice.”