Catherine Russell Alone Together

Catherine Russell
Alone Together
Dot Time

The daughter of Luis Russell (Louis Armstrong's big band leader) and pioneering guitarist-bassist Carline Ray, Catherine Russell has established herself as a superb jazz singer. "Alone Together" is her seventh studio album and is the vein of her prior recordings. It brings together a range of vintage material from the twenties until the seventies.

On this recording, she interprets songs associated with the likes of Rosa Henderson, Louis Jordan, Cecil Gant, Nat King Cole, Fats Waller along with standards from the American Song Book. She is backed by a band rooted in the swing style of the thirties and forties that include Matt Munisteri on guitars, Mark Shane on piano, Tal Ronen on bass, Mark McLean on drums, Jon-Erik Kellso on trumpet, John Allred on trombone, and Evan Arntzen on tenor sax, with a string trio employed on one selection.

Opening with a rendition of the Schwartz-Dietz title track, Russell delights with the warmth and delivery of her vocals. The backing band is superb with Allred and Arntzen soloing on this. This is an album full of songs touching on love and its pitfalls. Munsiteri's acoustic chording launches "You Turned the Tables On Me," as she wistfully sings about her ex who let her fall with a drop." Mark Shane is also outstanding on this hornless selection.

A lovely rendition of "When Did You Leave Heaven?", uses strings to cushion her vocal. Munisteri takes a tight electric guitar solo. Solid, personal interpretations of a couple of Louis Jordan songs, "Early in the Morning," and "Is You or Is You Ain't My Baby?" follow with outstanding backing. Kellso provided the riff-based horn arrangement on "Early in the Morning," with a terrific tenor sax solo by Arntzen and Munisteri contributes some strong jazz-blues guitar. Russell ably handles the lyrics of "Is You or Is You Ain't My Baby?" displaying just how good a blues singer she is. Kellso is exquisite with on his muted trumpet solo. Her revival of Cecil Gant's classic blues-ballad "I Wonder" captures the song's wistfulness.

Then there is her infectious, delightful revival of a 30's pop swinger, "You Can't Pull The Wool Over My Eyes," and her swaggering rendition of Rosa Henderson's 1923 recording, "He May Be Your Dog But He's Wearing My Collar." Munisteri plays dobro on the latter song. Then there is an effervescent take on Nat King Cole's jumping jive, "Errand Girl For Rhythm," and the warmth in her rendition of "I Only Have Eyes for You."

A charming rendition of Fats Waller's "You're Not The Only Oyster In The Stew," closes another terrific Catherine Russell recording.

I received from my review copy from the record company. This review appeared in the March-April 2019 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 383), although I have made some minor changes. Here is a video of Catherine Russell singing "He May Be Your Dog But He's Wearing My Collar."

Eyal Vilner Big Band Hanukkah

Eyal Vilner Big Band
Hanukkah
Self-produced

Composer, saxophonist and arranger Eval Vilner has come up with a uniquely original holiday offering. His latest re lease is an exciting and festive Hanukkah album, with his 16 piece big band on a repertoire of traditional Hanukkah songs, blending holiday melodies with sounds influenced by jazz and swing, Israeli, Jewish and Middle Eastern music, in addition to Brazilian Choro and Afro - Cuban rhythms. In addition there is a vocal trio on one selection and Israeli flute virtuoso Itai Kriss. It was recorded at one of the oldest synagogues in the U.S. - the Museum at Eldridge Street - a National Historic Landmark dating back to 1887 in what used to be a Jewish immigrant neighborhood and is now Chinatown.

The opening "Prelude" opens as the horns provide a classical choral played by the horns of a traditional song sung every day of Hanukah after the lighting of candles followed by "Maoz Tzur," where the band swings the melody with Vilner taking a fervent sax solo with Jack Glottman taking a crisp piano break with the full and coming across like the 50's Basie Band on the joyous romp. "Sevivon," inspired by the spin of the dreidel, has a strong percussive and Brazilian flavor, including a section dedicated to Batucada music (a drum ensemble) as well as some brilliant flute from, Itai Kriss. A vocal trio of three of NYC’s finest trad - jazz vocalists Tamar Korn, Martina DaSilva and Vanessa Perea, sing the Boswell Sisters inspired vocals on "Oh Hanukah," with a strong tenor sax solo by Evan Arntzen, along with the leader's clarinet break while Vilner's arrangement smartly frames the vocals and the sax solo. On "Mi Yemalel," Vilner plays the shofar to open this musical depiction of the Maccabees and their war on the Greeks who occupied Ancient Judea. Wayne Tucker continues, playing a Taqsim (intro, in traditional Arabic music, which sets the mood of a piece) followed by the harmonized trombone section followed by the saxophones and trumpets playing contrasting melodies.

A joyous bonus track, "These Candles" starting as a march before turning to an Ellingtonian flavored swing number and features the trumpet of Irv Grossman and the break all the doors down tenor of Michael Hashim. It is only available digitally, but complements this wonderful recording of Holiday music. This is available from cdbaby and other sources.

I received a download of this to review from a publicist. Here is the Eyal Vilner Big Band performing "Maoz Tzur."