Brenda Russell

I’ve been listening to Rachelle Ferrell and Brenda Russell today.  Two very talented performers in my opinion, that don’t get nearly the amount of recognition that they should.  Today’s post will be about Brenda Russell.

I’ve been listening to Brenda Russell since the early 80’s when my Mom introduced me to her self titled album.  I fell in love with just about every song on it.  She is on my list to see if the opportunity ever comes up again.  I had a chance almost 8 years ago, and I was trying to get my Mom to come up here to see her with me at my favorite jazz club / venue. Unfortunately it just never happened.  Brenda Russell is one the artist that when I hear her, I feel my Mom’s spirit next to me as I mentioned here

The photo to the right is a gift that my good friend Cherisse got for me about 2 years ago as a Christmas gift. She found the album and framed it for me. It is now is in our office, on our “music” wall.

Fun fact, my Mom’s best friend Randee and her Mom were friends with Brenda Russell.  As a kid, I thought it was so cool that we knew someone that was friends with a celebrity.  I always was hopeful that I would get a chance to meet her.  However if she ever comes to perform at Yoshi’s again, I will be buying the VIP passes to get my chance to.

Here is a playlist of the songs on the self titled album.  If you don’t know who Brenda Russell is, it’s almost guaranteed you will after you hear her song “Piano in the Dark”