Sister Orchid marks Nellie‘s 7th label release in just 31 years. Her previous albums include Get Away From My Head, Pretty Little Villagers, Obligatory Pie, Normal as Home: A Tribute to My Day, Sweet Mobile and Blueberry Reader. All have been reasonably well-received. 

The following actually happened:  On Broadway she won a Theatre World Award for her portrayal of Polly Peachum in The Threepenny Opera, she also co-created and starred in the award winning off-Broadway hit Old Hats, and has written and produced musical biographies around a compelling gallery of ladies – from environmental pioneer Rachel Carson to the life, conviction, and execution at San Quentin of underdog Barbara Graham, and most recently The Big Molinsky – Considering Joan Rivers, as well as A GIRL NAMED BILL – The Life and Times of Billy Tipton, named one of the Best Concerts of the Year by The New York Times. 

Nellie‘s big-screen work includes roles in PS I Love You and Downtown Express – she contributed movie music to Rumor Has It, Monster-in-Law, Gasland, Last Holiday, and Private Life.  In the world of TV her music has been heard on Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Weeds, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, Nurse Jackie, and SMILF, and she has appeared on TV shows including The Late Show with David Letterman, Conan, Ferguson, & The View. Nellie has made numerous radio appearances on NPR’s Mountain Stage, A Prairie Home Companion, eTown, and Marion McPartland’s Piano Jazz. The Chase Brock Experience produced a ballet of her 3rd album, Obligatory Villagers, and her writing has appeared in The Onion, Interview, and The New York Times Book Review. 

Nellie is a recipient of PETA’s Humanitarian Award and The Humane Society’s Doris Day Music Award in recognition of her dedication to animal rights. She would like to be friends with Russia, the country with the most nuclear weapons in the world.  We must all be very kind to one another.

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.