Catherine Russell performs at Panama Jazz Festival

“Ms. Russell is part of a noble jazz lineage. Her father, Luis Russell (1902-63), was a pianist and leader of one of the most impressive big bands on the early New York jazz scene after leading a group in New Orleans and moving to Chicago, where he worked with King Oliver, who gave Louis Armstrong his first big break.” 

Nat Hentoff, The Wall Street Journal

“Luis Russell, a Panamanian jazz genius…who moved to New Orleans in 1919 at age 17…who famously collaborated with such first generation New Orleans jazzmen as clarinetist, Albert Nicolas, drummer Paul Barbarin, and the great Satchmo himself…”

Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune

Catherine Russell is a 2nd generation vocalist of Afro-Panamanian-American descent. In January of 2008, Catherine Russell and her band performed at the 5th annual Panama Jazz Festival, held in Panama City, Republic of Panama. The visit helped to celebrate the release (on February 12) of Ms. Russell’s 2nd album, Sentimental Streak, on the World Village label, and marked her first ever visit to Panama.

On her critically acclaimed debut album, Cat, released on the World Village label in 2006, Catherine Russell recorded “Back O Town Blues”, a song written by Luis Russell for Louis Armstrong, and a staple of Satchmo’s “live” shows for decades. Catherine performed her version on the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS-TV, and her recording reached the top 10 on I-Tunes Jazz Chart. Catherine’s new album, Sentimental Streak, opens with a reinvention of a Luis Russell arrangement of a Louis Armstrong recording from 1938, “So Little Time (So Much To Do)”, and also features a song co-written and recorded by Luis Russell, “I’ve Got That Thing.”

Catherine’s father, the late Luis Russell, was born in the Bocas Del Toro region of Panama. Trained as a musician while in Panama, Luis Russell won the Panama national lottery in 1919 and moved to New Orleans, where he fell in with the greatest players of Jazz, including Louis Armstrong and Joe “King” Oliver. Luis Russell soon moved to Chicago and recorded with King Oliver, and then on to New York City, where he formed the Luis Russell Orchestra. Pianist, Arranger, Bandleader, and Songwriter, Luis Russell sat at the center of several of the great bands of 20th Century Jazz and Popular music. By the late 1920’s, the Luis Russell Orchestra was considered one of hottest dance bands in New York, rivaling those of Duke Ellington, Chick Webb, and Fletcher Henderson. Louis Armstrong “borrowed” Luis Russell and his Orchestra for several legendary recordings, including “Mahogany Hall Stomp” from Armstrongs famed Hot 5’s and 7’s series, plus the original recording of Hoagy Carmichael’s all time classic composition “Rocking Chair”. In 1935, Louis Armstrong took over the Luis Russell Orchestra and retained Luis Russell as his musical director, an association that lasted for many years of recordings, film appearances, and tours. 

Described as “Panama’s first bona fide jazz star”, by Howard Reich in The Chicago Tribune, Luis Russell is a revered figure in his native Panama. He was featured on a postage stamp, through the efforts of Mr. Ernesto Crouch of the Panama based Luis Russell Foundation, and the first Panama Jazz Festival in 2003 was dedicated to Luis Russell.

The Panama Jazz Festival was founded by Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez in order to exchange cultural experiences between the best musicians of the world and the Panamanian people. The Fifth Anniversary edition of the Panama Jazz Festival took on added significance by introducing Catherine Russell to her father’s homeland, carrying on a musical legacy and creating its next chapter.