Grammy Award Winning Vocalist Catherine Russell at Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Allen Room

Jimmy McHugh’s I’m In The Mood For Love to be highlighted

Grammy Award winning vocalist Catherine Russell will appear in concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Allen Room on Friday and Saturday March 30 & 31, 2012.

Catherine will lead a ten piece orchestra, featuring new arrangements performed by the musicians on her new album Strictly Romancin’.

On her new album and at The Allen Room, Catherine includes the classic Jimmy McHugh composition, I'm In The Mood For Love.

The album is quickly garnering success, jumping to #1 on the JazzWeek Chart, while also hitting #1 on I-Tunes and Amazon Jazz Charts, and #6 on Billboard's Jazz Album Chart. Vocalist Russell is a native New Yorker, born to musical royalty.

Her father, the late Luis Russell, was a pioneering pianist/composer/bandleader, and Louis Armstrong's long-time musical director. Her mother, Carline Ray, is a bassist, guitarist, vocalist, who has performed with Mary Lou Williams and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

Catherine Russell will appear in concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Allen Room on Friday and Saturday March 30 & 31, 2012, with two shows nightly (7:30pm & 9:30pm); She records for World Village/Harmonia Mundi.

http://jalc.org/concerts/details309a.asp?EventID=2653

catherinerussell.net/

Jimmy McHugh on Google: Let’s Party Like It’s 1962

Googling around, we came across an interesting bit of Jimmy McHugh history reprinted in the St Petersburg Times this week, which originally ran on Tuesday, March 6, 1962- Fifty years ago this week.

“NEW ORLEANS -- The Mardi Gras Waltz, composed by two of the nation's top songwriters, makes its debut at Carnival balls of Rex and Comus tonight -- Mardi Gras.” 

"Jimmy McHugh, who gave the world the music to I'm in the Mood for Love and On the Sunny Side of the Street, wrote the music for the new waltz. Ned Washington, who authored the lyrics to 'When You Wish Upon a Star' composed the words." 

St Petersburg Times (actual page snapshot)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19620306&id=5Q8zAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HVIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4176,2790645

JIMMY McHUGH IS THE CULPRIT: MURDER, HE SAYS IS A KILLER SONG

Murder, He Says is an absolutely knock-out, if somewhat lesser known, Jimmy McHugh gem.

Tori Amos hit a bullseye with her recording, featured in Mona Lisa Smile starring Julia Roberts. 

Dinah Shore scored a wartime hit with her jitterbug version of the tune, now featured in the new hit game, LA Noire. 

Here’s a sample of the song’s 1940s hipster lyrics:

He says, Jackson, he says
and my name's Marie
He says, Jackson, he says
shoot the snoot for me
He says, Jackson, he says
Is that the language of love?

The high spirited and perennially peppy Betty Hutton killed ‘em with her jump & jive LIVE performance of Murder, He Says for Armed Forces Radio’s Command Performance program.

Summing it up her style, the show’s host Bob Hope called the Betty ‘A Vitamin Pill on Legs’!

Here’s a link to a rare film clip of this 1943 performance (and another to Tori Amos’s great swing track.)

Enjoy.

Betty Hutton:

Tori Amos: