As a child, singer Catherine Russell bounced on the knee of Louis Armstrong. Her father, Luis Russell, held the position of musical director for Armstrong, and her mother, Carline Ray, was trained at Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music. It was only natural that Russell would choose a musical path for her own life.

Russell graduated with honors from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before touring the world with artists including Paul Simon, David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Steely Dan and Rosanne Cash. In 2006, she broke out as a soloist with her debut album Cat.

Russell's latest album, Strictly Romancin', was released in 2012 and today she is a leading interpreter of the Great American Songbook. On this episode of Song Travels, Russell and host Michael Feinstein perform jazz standards with a hint of the blues, including "I Cover the Waterfront" and Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo."

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Source: NPR