Ladies Sing the Blues

Vocalists Catherine Russell, Brianna Thomas, and Charenee Wade channel the independent, liberated spirits and pioneering vocalizations of 1920s blues divas Bessie Smith (“the Empress of the Blues”), Mamie Smith (“the Queen of the Blues”), Ma Rainey (“the Mother of the Blues”), and the legendary icon of stage and film, Ethel Waters. Featuring arrangements of this era, pianist Mark Shane takes the reins as music director and leader of a 7 piece all-star band, enlivening this important strain of American music and demonstrating the ageless relevance of this century-old transcendence of love’s follies through innuendo, revelation, and stomping the blues away.