Catherine Russell Quartet 1/17/20 Sprague Hall

Happened upon Catherine Russell from the library jazz bin with her 2006 release "Cat". On that recording she did a jazz diva version of the Grateful Dead's New Speedway Boogie which piqued my interest. Like Cassandra Wilson slightly before Cat, they do modern popular songs in a jazz setting. After that release, I had lost track of her. Fast forward to now and she is headlining Yale's Ellington Jazz Series in support of her Grammy- nominated 2019 release Alone Together. I learn from the concert flyer that her mother was a pioneering vocalist/guitarist and her father was a legendary pianist/ bandleader and Louis Armstrong's longtime musical director. On this evening she came with a jazz swing quartet. Matt Munisteri on Django-style guitar, Konrad Paszkudzki on piano, and Tal Ronen on double bass rounded out the group. I learn that Cat's versatile voice has graced over 200 albums including stints with David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Michael Feinstein, The Holmes Brothers, Wynton Marsalis, and Roseanne Cash, as well as the soundtrack to Boardwalk Empire. Russell's current flair is mining. By mining I mean that she enjoys scouring early music's back catalog to dust off and spit shine songs that have long exited our musical conscious (let alone our Spotify playlist). Tunes by Fats Waller, Willie the Lion Smith, Louis Jordan and others dominated the set. I was struck by how she was able to annunciate the lyrics to make them front and center. Show highlight was the Jordan classic "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby".

Angela Davis 1/16/20 Woolsey Hall

While not strictly a musical event,  this lecture by civil rights, check that, rights icon Davis, started with an excellent acapella group singing We Shall Overcome. As part of a broader celebration of Martin Luther King Day at Yale, Professor Davis gave a fitting start to this tumultuous year. Under the unofficial banner People Get Ready, Davis spoke of meeting King, his opposition to the Vietnam war, and the societal vestiges of slavery that undermine freedom for people of color in this country. While trying to project positivity in the rights struggle, it is hard not to grapple with the specter of the" occupant of the White House" or " he who shall remain nameless" as a stain on the movement. Davis spoke for an hour to a rapt capacity crowd at Woolsey railing against mass incarceration as a continuation of our country's dark past. She commented on this administration's First Step Law, which on face looks like an attempt at federal prison reform but in reality is a lame swing at a Fox News talking point. 2020 will emphasize the war between good and evil, make no mistake, People Get Ready, We Shall Overcome.