Russell's interest in music began as a child.[1] As a young girl, she was "steeped in early jazz—from '20s and '30s recordings by her father's orchestras to '40s and '50s
R&B."[5] She was also enamored with
country music—including the early
George Jones,
Patsy Cline,
Hank Williams, and
Merle Haggard—as she liked "anything that swings."[1]
Background vocalist
In the mid-1980s, she often visited a
Manhattan club where guitarist
Jimmy Vivino was the bandleader.[6] One evening she was invited to sing on stage with musician
Donald Fagen of the band
Steely Dan.[6] Soon afterwards, Russell was invited to tour with Fagen's "New York Rock and Soul Revue" in 1992. When Steely Dan reunited in 1993, Fagen invited her to join them, and she toured with them until 1996.[6] She spent "many years on the road with rock, blues, jazz, soul and gospel bands."[1] She preferred to tour with acoustic string bands as she did not have to compete with electric guitars.[1] She performed background vocals on the 1990
Madonna recording "
Rescue Me".
From 2002-2004, Russell worked with
David Bowie as a band member, providing backing vocals and featured contributions on guitar, keyboard and percussion for Bowie's
Heathen Tour,
A Reality Tour, and his late-2003 album Reality. Recalling these experiences, Russell remarked: "Working with David was a dream come true. I’d been a fan since 1971. He was such a gracious man, and musically generous. He brought out the best in me. In addition to background singing, he let me play several instruments: keyboards, percussion, guitar and mandolin. He allowed me to stretch beyond what I thought I was capable of. He was caring, funny and loved his family. I am blessed to have known him."[6]
Jazz career
When Bowie's touring career was suspended in 2004, Russell's business partner and later husband Paul Kahn suggested that she record a solo album.[6] However, Russell initially rejected the idea as she believed she already had "a nice career as a backup singer."[6] Nevertheless, she eventually consented to record song tracks at a friend's studio in
Skokie, Illinois. Kahn then invited executives from a record company to hear Russell sing in New York, which led to a recording contract with
Harmonia Mundi. The earlier tracks recorded in Illinois became her first album, Cat (2006).[6]
Russell soon experienced a "mid-career surge" in which she transitioned from an "in-demand, first-call backup singer to rock and pop stars" to become "the foremost vocal interpreter of vintage jazz and R&B songs."[6] Seven albums followed, about one every two years, supported by an extensive touring schedule in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States. With her roots in jazz and the blues, Russell quickly became known in jazz circles and, by January 2014, was the second best-selling female artist on several jazz charts.
Her voice has been described as "reminiscent of many of the great jazz and blues singers. Her phrasing is impeccable and her delivery relaxed and effortless; it never seems as if she's 'trying.'"[2]The New York Times stated that her performances project "a strength, good humor and intelligence that engulf the room in a mood of bonhomie."[5] Her rendition of
Irving Berlin's tune "
Harlem on My Mind" was highly praised by the Jazz Times which declared that, "if there's a post-millennial answer to
Dinah Washington, surely it's Catherine Russell: same remarkable vocal dexterity-blues shouter meets jazz stylist; same espresso-strength power; same immaculate clarity; same ability to shift seamlessly from sassy to torchy."[7]
In 2019, Russell appeared as a character in the biographical feature film Bolden!, about early jazz performer
Buddy Bolden. She performed the blues folk song "
Make Me a Pallet on the Floor."[11] The same year, she released her seventh album, Alone Together, via Dot Time Records.[12]