CATHERINE RUSSELL & SEAN MASON

MY IDEAL

Dot Time Records

Catherine Russell, vocals; Sean Mason, piano.

Catherine Russell has been recording and reminding us of the historic importance of songs from another time and era since 2006, when she released her first album called “Cat.”  Sean Mason is a sensitive accompanist, and a strong soloist who evokes both emotion and artistry playing solo piano.  As a duo, they are quite entertaining.  They present a powerful and intimate musical dialogue.

Opening with “A Porter’s Love Song (To a Chambermaid),” a song Mildred Bailey recorded on the Decca Record label in 1936, Catherine Russell is quite persuasive when she shares the cute and creative lyrics, “I will be your dustpan, if you’ll be my broom.  We could work together all around the room.”

This is followed by a blues tune, “I Don’t Need No Doctor” that Mason infuses with R&B piano accompaniment.  The title tune, “My Ideal” is a ballad, sung with much sincerity. The melody is lovely and Mason’s solo is emotional and beautifully executed, always keeping the melody up front and accessible.

The same songwriters who wrote “My Ideal” also wrote “You Stayed Away Too Long” and it’s presented as a blues. Russell covers another song that Louie Armstrong recorded, “On the Sentimental Side” which was pulled from the 1938 movie, Dr. Rhythm.  It has a beautiful melody.  I can imagine how wonderful it would sound for Louie’s trumpet to play it.  Catherine Russell executes each lyric and every note with inspired tone and sincerity.  She also sings a familiar tune that Ray Charles made quite popular in the 1960s, delivered with a strong gospel-feel titled, “Ain’t That Love.”  Their arrangement on “You Can Depend on Me” is extremely creative and was recorded by Louie Armstrong back in 1931.

“Waitin’ for the Train to Come in” is a blues song recorded by Peggy Lee around 1945, at a time when World War II was ending. This tune closes out the duo’s album in a memorable way.  Mason shuffles the chords beneath Russell’s bright, bluesy vocals, holding the tempo in perfect place.  When he takes a solo, Mason shares the melody in the treble clef while working his left hand like a combination of bass and drums.

This is a dynamic album, featuring two super talented individuals. They bring rejuvenation to historic songs, transforming them to the 21st century. Catherine Russell and Sean Mason shine in the spotlight of their own imaginative, pitch-perfect presentation.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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