Rifftides reader and occasional commentator Svetlana Ilicheva of Moscow (not the one in Idaho) now and then calls things to our collective attention. Her latest alert has to do with 
Catherine Russell (pictured), a singer to whom I must confess not having paid sufficient attention. She is the daughter of Luis Russell, whose big band was home base to Louis Armstrong, Red Allen, J.C. Higginbotham and other star soloists at various times in the 1920s and ‘30s.
Ms. Ilicheva was attracted by Catherine Russell’s video version of “Romance In The Dark,†a hit for Lil Green and Dinah Washington covered over the years by at least 59 other singers from The 4 Blackamoors to Mary Ann McCall with Woody Herman, to Jerri Southern, to Ann Margret (!) Ms. Russell’s video came from a 2012 concert at the Wellfleet Preservation Hall in Wellfleet, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. The hall’s motto is “Not Your Average Community Center.†That’s easy to believe, given this performance. Her accompanists are Mark Shane, piano; Lee Hudson, bass; and Matt Munisteri, guitar
She has recorded that song in this album.
Have a good weekend.