Jennifer Holliday was always meant to touch the world. From her early days as a girl 
singing solos with the choir at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Houston,TX to her
years on the Broadway stage and beyond, her inimitable voice has riveted the hearts of audiences from around the world. A Broadway Legend in every sense of the term,her professional journey began onefateful Sunday in Houston while singing in her church choir when Ms. Holliday was discovered by dancer Jamie Patterson,who was touring in the national company of A Chorus Line. Wowed by her talent,Patterson bought the 17-year-old a plane ticket to New York City and arranged for her to have her first Broadway audition. During that audition, she sang her favorite gospel hymn,a song that would be a proven testimony over again for years to come: “God Will Take Care of You.”She was hired that day by the show's creator and director, Vinette Carroll, and made her Broadway debut in 1980 at age 19 in the revival of Your Arms Are Too Short To Box With God.
Ms.Holliday's vocal prowess came to the attention of many theater luminaries and
critics, most notably the renowned Broadway director and choreographer Michael
Bennett, the creator of A Chorus Line. Bennett invited her to participate in an untitled
project that he was producing, a show was about a young, black girl group. The show
would catapult Ms. Holliday from Broadway Baby to household name just a year later in the lead role as the iconic Effie “Melody” White in the 1981 smash hit Dreamgirls. Ms.Holliday immortalized Effie, forever creating a template for delivering gut-wrenching, timeless performances, evidenced in her garnering a Grammy® Award for the performance of the show-stopping torch ballad “And I am Telling You, I'm Not Going" and a coveted Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Effie.

Her second album, "Say You Love Me,"won her a second GRAMMY® for her rendition of Duke Ellington's classic, “Come Sunday.” From 1985 to 1992, she had five Top 10 singles on the R&B and Dance Charts and her star continued to shine brightly with collaborations and appearances with other megastars: Barbra Streisand, Luther Vandross, David Foster,Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, Maurice White and Foreigner, with whom she performed on a special version of “I Want To Know What Love Is.”Moviegoers and music lovers can also hear Ms. Holliday's voice on compilation albums for films such as In The Mood:The Sonny Wisecarver Story (1987), I'm Gonna Get You Sucka (1988), The Five Heartbeats (1991), Amazing Grace (2006) and Why Did I Get Married (2007). She also composed and sang the original songs for the soundtrack to The Rising Place (2001). In 2014, Ms. Holliday released her first album in two decades. “This Song Is You” stirred long-time fans and garnered a new generation of enthusiastic listeners landing Ms. Holliday back in the Top 20 R&B charts with rave reviews. She also independently released her first single in twenty years called “So In Love”penned by herself and music producer Terrell Sass which charted in the Top 5 on the R& BIndie Charts and overwhelming acclaim from her fans and soul music critics. Standout television appearances include David E. Kelley's Ally McBeal,Love Boat, American ldol, The Masked Singer and Touched By An Angel. In 2016, Ms.Holliday returned to the theater starring alongside Cynthia Erivo in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple as sultry singer "Shug Avery". Her other many theater credits include Chicago (as Mama Morton",Sing Mahalia Sing:The Mahalia Jackson Story, Downhearted Blues: The Bessie Smith Story and Grease (as “Teen Angel"). She recently made her movie debut as “Florrie” in the independent film The Road To Galena.

The powerhouse broadway diva still performs solo concerts across the country and around the world. She also loves to play golf whenever time permits in between her singing engagements. Ms.Holliday is a longtime dedicated supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. She also supports the MS Society as well as an advocate for mental health and suicide prevention.

The American dream came true for Catalina Popescu in October of 1986 when she and her husband Bob created a supper club devoted to serving an experience of superb eats and the shared magic of live performance. That grand experience began at the door where every night her mother Maria would greet each guest as family and share in their love of music. Housed in Hollywood and decked out in a timeless charm, the club offers a cozy ambience under sparkling stage lights garnished with its signature concoction — Jazz. The first artist to grace the stage was the masterful flutist and saxophonist Buddy Collette, and ever since then, over the past 36 years, the Catalina Jazz Club has hosted the most illustrious legends of all time — from the powerful puffers of Dizzy Gillespie to the electrified fingers of McCoy Tyner, the bubbly belt of Dee Dee Bridgewater and Lynda Carter, the flirtatious saxophone of Joshua Redman, the slick strumming of Kenny Burrell, the insane drum clinic of Steve Gadd, the romance of Steve Tyrell, and the masterclass of Mike Stern.

For Catalina, Jazz is our way of life. It breathes pain. It knows love. It dreams hope. It bleeds courage. Whether we’re showcasing Broadway, Soul, R&B, or stand-up comedy, the lesson learned from all the greats who have serenaded our spirits is how to connect to one another. And that’s why the Catalina Jazz Club will always have a table ready for you.

The Catalina Jazz Club has been honored by A.S.M.A.C., California Jazz Foundation, Los Angeles Jazz Society, and a City of Los Angeles Certificate of Appreciation on their 25th Anniversary, which was awarded by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the LA City Council which included then City Council member and current Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.