Harlem on My Mind

Harlem on My Mind is a studio album by American jazz singer Catherine Russell, released on September 9, 2016. It earned Russell a Grammy Award nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Reception
Christopher Loudon of JazzTimes stated "If there’s a postmillennial 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. Russell has, across previous albums, liberally exercised her predilection for vintage material, though never as deliberately as here. The main theme is tunes you’d have heard throughout Harlem when the likes of Ida Cox and Bessie Smith ruled the musical roost."

Peter Vacher of London Jazz News wrote "For this 2015 recording, her sixth outing for the label, she’s chosen to revisit classic songs from Harlem’s heyday associated with such great names as Ethel Waters, Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith... She can be lusty when appropriate but stays well away from self-conscious parody or period ricky-tick in this fine programme, the arrangements [and solos] neatly fashioned and appropriate. Russell is blessed with perfect intonation, vocal warmth and a natural inclination to give these time-honoured lyrics their proper due. Old-fashioned values maybe, but in a good way."

Personnel
with:
 * Catherine Russell - lead vocals
 * Matt Munisteri - guitar, musical director
 * Tal Ronen - bass
 * Mark Shane - piano
 * Mark McLean - drums
 * Andy Farber - tenor saxophone
 * Mark Lopeman - baritone saxophone
 * Dan Block - alto saxophone
 * Alphonso Horne, Jon-Erik Kellso - trumpet
 * John Allred - trombone
 * Fred Staton - tenor saxophone on "Don't Take Your Love from Me"