Catherine Russell Saturday, March 28 at Caffe Lena; Two shows in the Peak Jazz Series sponsored by Joe and LuAnn Conlon in memory of Corinne Simmons

Car trouble and a dental problem kept me from getting to Saratoga Saturday for either of Catherine Russell’s two shows. (Painless, so far; but ugly – thanks for asking)

At showtime, glum, I remembered my subscription to Caffe Lena TV that live-streams shows fans with car trouble and dental problems can’t get to.

At first, I bumbled, failing to connect. When things started working, 20 minutes in, only bassist Tai Ronen and pianist and accordion player Ben Rosenblum flanked Russell onstage; guitarist, Matt Munisteri nowhere in sight.

Catherine Russell Sings at Caffe Lena – on My Desk

They were swinging “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing,” a light-footed romp Rosenblum’s piano set aglow with an antique but lively aura.

They slowed into Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin’,” a mellow, rocking blues shuffle with Rosenblum switching to accordion under Russell’s torchy, belted vocal that used repeats to let things cool down. After, she said she wanted Rosenblum to “put a little energy in it!” Big laughs.

Munisteri arrived then, Russell decrying travel troubles as he plugged in and joined the intro to “Fortune Telling Man,” a lively musing on possible infidelity: her man is a fiddler, was he “fiddling around?” Russell sang her suspicion with wry fatalism.

Noting our days getting longer, she fired up “(There Oughta Be a) Moonlight Saving Time,” a happy love ballad with Munisteri in graceful Joe Pass lyrical mood and Rosenblum definitly putting energy in it at the piano; both earned applause.

Russell introduced “At the Swing Cats Ball” by recalling she’d found this 1938 party number, composed by her bandleader father Luis, while clearing out her mother’s home. No sadness here: big fun at a brisk tempo, engaging melody and joyful spirit in superb solos by accordion and guitar.

Russell praised radio where she first heard “If it Ain’t One Thing It’s Another,” cheerful piano underlining lyrics of trouble following us around. Everybody soloed, then ganged up on the song.

She revved up in Ray Charles’s bouncy “Ain’t That Love,” a spunky blues with a high, swooping vocal and sharp solos.

Slow guitar introduced the wistful “My Ideal,” a musing quest for love with Russell’s voice expressing hope – a bit naive, maybe – then disappointment, then optimism, her emotional range as impressive as her mastery of melody. 

She said a student introduced her to “Now You’re Talking My Language,” the 1937 Chu Berry and Hot Lips Page jump-blues romp. Everybody soloed, to happy applause; including a rare bass breakout by Ronen. Another antique followed, “You Stepped out of a dream,” starring Rosenblum’s accordion and a subtle fade Russell sang to great effect.

Things turned bawdy in the sly kiss-off “You Got the Right Key, But the Wrong Keyhole,”* a slow-drag blues of mismatched lovers. Munisteri got awed applause for an extra-fine solo of rapid single-note runs chasing the melody around.

Russell told the audience: “Without you, this is a rehearsal!” Then she closed, all happy upbeat, by claiming Nat King Cole’s spry “Errand Girl for Rhythm” for her own.

No encore after the 5 p.m. first show; they had another show, at 8.

As the Caffe emptied and refilled, I thought Russell may be the most superbly deserving Nepo kid this side of Rosanne Cash, whose band Russell sang in years ago at the Egg. Russell did cite her father Luis, composer of tunes in each show. On her own terms, backed by a cozy ensemble as skilled as she is, Russell is one spectacularly effective singer and a tasteful curator of a vintage repertoire. She said she doesn’t sing anything newer than 70 years old (her age at her next birthday), and she doesn’t need to.

I watched the second show, curious to see what was different from the first.

They opened with the upbeat “Now You’re Talking My Language;” they’d played it later in the first show. Other first-show songs also hit in the second, but Russell also chose different songs by composers whose tunes she sang in the first show.

Bluesy guitar set up Junior Wells’s shuffle “You Sure Look Good to Me,” Russell’s voice strong in exultant “Hey, BABY!” shout-out, then a skat chorus amid emphatic, seething swing.

They seemed looser in the second show, Munisteri’s guitar showing, even more closely than earlier, how elegant jazzman Joe Pass and brash T-Bone Walker are riff cousins of a sort. A brisk, brash pianist, Rosenblum was even more impressive rocking around the accordion. Steadfast, tasteful, Ronen gave the drummer-less band plenty of rhythm.

In “Exactly Like You,” Munisteri briefly quoted “Take The A-Train” as everybody onstage looked around and grinned.

Guitar introduced “Reaching for the Moon” at a tempo too fast to feel yearning, but blinding fast accordion erupted out of the groove to own the song, until Munisteri reclaimed it, and equal applause.

“I’m Walkin’” rocked stronger with Munisteri than it had without him in the first show, and Russell rolled from staccato skatting into a big, belted finish.

In her father’s “Bocas Del Toro” about seaside landscapes in his native Panama, Russell and the band went Latin, Rosenblum’s accordion and Munisteri’s guitar alternating single-note runs with chords. They followed with another Luis Russell tune, the straight-ahead “At the Swing Cats Ball,” stripped down at the end to Russell’s voice and Ronen tapping his bass.

In Ray Charles’s rocking “I Don’t Need No Doctor” Russell’s high notes handed off to Munisteri’s low chords; they teamed up again at the ending in fast repeats fading away.

The kiss-off “I Just Refuse to Sing the Blues” combined defiance with the pain of love lingering past its time, Munisteri at his most lyrically delicate.

Aiming “Don’t Advertise Your Man” to “the ladies,” Russell cruised through the Sippie Wallace cautionary tale that Bonnie Raitt made a big hit, first offering advice, then warning she might not be trustworthy, either. Guitar and piano pulsated with melodic energy in emphatic rhythms here.

In Slim Gaillard’s bouncy calypso “Make It Do,” Russell sang of adapting to changes in fates and places, blithe and flexible rather than resentful or resisting. She updated its auto/lifestyle references from Cadillac versus Ford to Mercedes versus Toyota. This stretched more than most, its tropical beat was fun, all around.

Russell’s last notes at the end of her closer “Errand Girl for Rhythm” were high as any in ether show.

Russell’s next album, recorded live at Jazz at Lincoln Center, will include songs she also sang Saturday at Caffe Lena, really well.

The next show in Caffe Lena’a Peak Jazz Series stars guitarist Charlie Ballantine on April 30.

* Here I have to mention NRBQ’s similarly titled rocking romp “You Got the Right String, Baby, But the Wrong Yo-Yo.” You knew if I could make an NRBQ connection, I would.

From left, Tal Ronen, bass; Bob Rosenblum, piano (also accordion); Catherine Russell, vocal; Matt Munisteri

First Show (Connected to the live stream late: 5:20 p.m.)

The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing

I’m Walkin’

Exactly Like You

Fortune Telling Man

Moonlight Saving Time

At the Swing Cats Ball

If it Ain’t One Thing It’s Another 

Ain’t That Love

My Ideal

Now You’re Talking My Language

You Stepped out of a Dream 

You Got the Right Key but the wrong Keyhole

Errand Girl for Rhythm 

6:24 end

Second show 8:09 start

Now You’re Talking My Language

You Sure Look Good To Me

Exactly Like You

Reaching for the Moon

I’m Walkin’ 

Bocas Del Toro 

At the Swing Cats Ball  

I Don’t Need No Doctor

I Just Refuse to Sing the Blues

If It Ain’t One Thing It’s Another

My Ideal

Ain’t That Love 

Don’t Advertise Your Man

Make It Do

Errand Girl for Rhythm 

9:23 end