DJ Jazzy Kat With Michelle Willson Talk all things Music and the world as we know it!

A writer in the respected Allmusic.com once put it this way: "Her singing is like a strong cup of Joe -- it beelines to the gut and jolts the system."And that's putting it mildly.Michelle is a force of nature -- an emotional ball of talent that inspires with her original songs but also takes you on a journey through what she calls "the lost music" of vintage soul/R&B legends like Dinah Washington, Ruth Brown and Etta James. Michelle has had a remarkable career. The Boston native made four albums with Bullseye Records (a subsidiary of Rounder Records) under the watchful eyes of producers Ron Levy (who also played keyboards with B.B. King for many years) and the Grammy Award-winning Scott Billington, who has more than 100 albums to his credit. Michelle herself has been nominated for the W.C. Handy Award for best blues vocalist (she lost to Etta James) and has toured internationally, with her own band and with (award winning blues pianist) Anthony Geraci’s Boston Blues all-Stars, with whom she appeared at The Lucerne (Switzerland) Blues Festival in 2018 and The Notodden (Norway) Blues Festival in 2019. She most recently performed in Switzerland with the Band Three Hours Past Midnight in November of 2024.In 2013, she recorded a live album, Fortune Cookie, at world renowned jazz club Scullers in Boston. 2015 offered her the opportunity to sing with “Night Tripper” Dr. John at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston, MA. Michelle appeared on 2 of Anthony Geraci’s most recent recordings, as well as on 2 of Duke Robillard’s recent releases. Currently, she is writing new material and preparing to go back into the studio to record her own music for the first time in over 20 years.A couple of little factoids:Michelle dropped out of college to start her first band in 1978. In 2015, she returned to UMASS Amherst’s UWW program to complete her bachelor’s degree and graduated magna cum laude in 2019.Michelle works at a small, mostly jazz, NPR affiliate radio station, 90.5 WICN in Worcester, MA. She is host of an eclectic, wildly popular weekday morning music program (Morning Vibe Time - M-F 6-9am) and acts as the station’s production manager, overseeing all aspects of recorded programming. (wicn.org)Katztracks.net With DJ Jazzy Kat. Support the show