Previously active in New York City as a songwriter and singer/pianist, I moved to Los Angeles in 2021. My music aims to mix pop, jazz, and R&B genres with meaningful lyrics and a soulful delivery. Major musical influences include Donald Fagen, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dorough, and Kurt Weill.

My first album, "21st Century Blues" was nominated for the (NYC) MAC Award as "Best Recording" in 2014.  In TalkinBroadway.com, reviewer Rob Lester described it as "Well worth the listen…wry observational humor and the low-key approach remind me of jazz wit stalwart Mose Allison in writing and singing…but seriousness is only inches below the surface, making this CD deepen with repeated listening…a feel-good experience with some gratifying grit."

In New York, I've performed at venues such as The Iridium, The Metropolitan Room, Pangea, Urban Stages, Don’t Tell Mama, The Duplex, the National Opera Center, and The Bitter End;  St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery (concerts and choir) and Theatre 80 St. Marks; and as part of New York Songwriters Alliance showcases. In 2020, I was asked to produce "My Side of Town", and evening of my original songs, for Urban Stages' "Winter Rhythms" festival.  

In 2023, my first show in my new hometown, "Good Evening, LA," played to a capacity house at the Gardenia in Hollywood.  And I'm readying a new album launch - and launch-party - for this fall.

My songs have been described by nightlife reviewer Alix Cohen (WomanAroundTown.com) as “smart, deft, and truthful."  A BroadwayWorld.com reviewer commented, "His songs are catchy, easy to listen to, and reminiscent of the jazzy standards written in the '40s and '50s.”  And, ahem, New York Times chief classical music critic Anthony Tomassini praised my 2009 performance as Harry Druggist in Marc Blitzstein’s 1930s agit-prop musical "The Cradle Will Rock." 

I'm super-excited about the large set of new original songs - most written since my arrival in LA - I've recorded with  producer/arranger Dori Amarilio, and an elite cast of "LA cats" and jazz and gospel vocalists. 

Watch for a full release in October!

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.