Catherine Russell has always felt like an artist who carries New York in her voice—its history, its grit, its elegance, and its endless musical memory. And with Catherine Russell – Live at Jazz at Lincoln Center set for release on April 24, 2026, she’s preparing to share what promises to be a special document of that legacy in motion.
Russell is a native New Yorker born into true musical royalty. Her father, the late Luis Russell, was a legendary pianist, composer, and bandleader, and served as Louis Armstrong’s long-time musical director. Her mother, the late Carline Ray, was a pioneering vocalist, guitarist, and bassist who performed with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Mary Lou Williams, and Sy Oliver. For Russell, jazz isn’t a style she stepped into—it’s a world she was raised inside, shaped by the very people who helped define it.
This forthcoming release marks her first live album, captured during a special weekend at the Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center, with Central Park providing the scenic backdrop. Even before hearing a note, the setting alone suggests something cinematic: a New York story told in real time, in one of the city’s most celebrated rooms for music.
Invited to perform as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2023–2024 season theme, “Community and Consciousness,” Russell reportedly crafted a program that goes beyond familiar standards. Instead, she built her set around a living subculture of jazz devotion: The Hot Club of New York, a community of enthusiasts who gather weekly to listen to vintage jazz and blues on 78rpm shellac records. That detail matters because it points to what this album is aiming to do—honor not only the music itself, but the people who keep its spirit alive through listening, collecting, and sharing.
The tracklist spans eleven selections across swing, blues, and early jazz styles, drawing on lesser-known gems originally recorded by artists such as Hot Lips Page, Tiny Grimes, Blanche Calloway, Cab Calloway, Helen Humes, Eddie Barefield, and Luis Russell, among others. It’s an approach that suggests deep care and curatorial intention—music chosen not for convenience or familiarity, but for the story it tells when placed in the right hands.
Those hands belong not only to Russell, but to a seasoned ensemble featuring Matt Munisteri on guitar, Ben Paterson on piano, Russell Hall on bass, and Domo Branch on drums. A horn section of Jon-Erik Kellso on trumpet, John Allred on trombone, and Evan Arntzen on tenor sax and clarinet performs Mark Lopeman’s arrangements, which are said to evoke everything from Harlem nightlife and territory bands to vintage New Orleans jazz, the swing era, and rhythm and blues traditions.
Adding an extra spark of rhythm and theatre, special guest tap dancer Michela Marino Lerman appears on four tracks—an element that hints at the kind of full-bodied, old-school showmanship a live set like this can deliver when it’s done right.
Live at Jazz at Lincoln Center is a celebration of lineage and community. The album is available for pre-order here.
Release date: April 24th, 2026
Catherine Russell performs at the Appel Room, on Friday, March 29, 2024. New York. Jazz at Lincoln Center. Photo: Gilberto Tadday/Jazz at Lincoln Center.
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