Katchie is an accomplished Fulbright Senior Specialist for the U.S. Department of State, professor of music at Northwest Vista College, and flutist and performer. Hailed as "a soulful intellectual with a velvet sound and uncommon ability" by NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath, she combines an extensive background in musical performance with ethnomusicology. She performs in The San Antonio/Austin area as a freelance flutist and with her world-jazz project, Katchie & le Monde Caché.
She is currently a professor of music at Northwest Vista College, a post she has held since 2006. Her discography includes a variety of albums under her own name and as a side musician. She directs the A-JAM (Alamo Jazz Allstars Mentorship) program.
“KRTU has been extremely supportive of my mentorship program, A-JAM. JJ Lopez has really made a strong commitment to giving our community college jazz students—and Trinity jazz students—opportunities to record for broadcast at KRTU studios, and be part of the South Texas Jazz Project.”
When Katchie does have free time she enjoys socializing with friends, going to see live music, reading, and gardening to create a habitable yard for pollinators and migrating birds.
When asked about her first experience with jazz music she thought back to her parents' love of jazz. “They had a small, but very good record collection.” Ornette Coleman’s album titled Free Jazz was in that collection and she loved it. Her mother’s side of the family adored Benny Goodman. When Katchie was young, her father put on a Billie Holiday LP, sat her on his knee and said, “Listen to that voice; that’s Billie Holiday.” She had the opportunity to see Duke Ellington and his band live when they performed at her high school. She also got to see Olatunji and his group when they performed at the colleges. Those were some of the most important interactions she had with jazz when she was young. Her family also listened to many styles of music including classical, theatre, American folk, and more. This opened up her music taste from a young age.
“I guess that’s why I turned out to be an ethnomusicologist!”
Her favorite music changes regularly, inspired by the last great thing she has heard. “The other day, Kory Cook was playing some fantastic Esperanza Spaulding cuts from Radio Days that she hadn’t listened to in ages, so that became her favorite of the moment!”
Katchie moved to San Antonio from New York in 2006 in order to take a professorship at Northwest Vista College. Her husband, saxophonist Richard Oppenheim, knew Aaron Prado, KRTU’s music director at the time, through ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers). One of ASCAP’s priorities is to ensure compensation for composers and publishers of music aired on the radio. They also knew Aaron through their favorite jazz station in New York, WKCR. Aaron trained with their director, Phil Schaap. Phil Schaap “was an extraordinary jazz historian, who just died this year, sadly.” They thought WKCR was fantastic, so they knew coming here that Aaron Prado “was carrying on Schaap’s legacy as the music director at KRTU.” Katchie pitched the show Planet Jazz, a cross-cultural jazz show, and she hosted it on Mondays at 8pm for many years. Later on, she “stepped into Tio Jacaré’s Saturday morning slot after he retired Cafezinho do Brasil”, one of her favorite shows on KRTU.
Katchie now hosts Caminhos do Jazz on KRTU 91.7 FM on Saturday mornings from 10-11am. The program offers world mixtures and collaborations, with an emphasis on Brazilian jazz. Caminhos do Jazz is different from Cafezinho do Brasil in that Katchie focus mainly on Brazilian jazz. She sometimes may play genres like MPB, pagode, sambe, and others, but jazz is the focus. When creating her setlist she likes to come up with an idea then try different orders or selections of music during her day. The best ways to get a sense of what Katchie plays is to look at the playlists on the show’s website, caminhosdojazz.blogspot.com.
“Right now, my most fervent hope is that we San Antonians successfully weather all the storms we face together—including the pandemic, climate crises, economic issues, human rights emergencies, political corruption, and the rest—with increasing strength, grace, health, compassion, and—ultimately—joy and beautiful music, experienced live, collectively.”
Audio clips: https://katchiecartwright.hearnow.com
Artist bio and press release: https://lydialiebman.com/index.php/project/katchie-cartwright/
Artist website, including more press clips, videos, audio, upcoming shows: https://katchie.com
Facebook artist page @katchiejazz
Facebook radio show @katchiecaminhosdojazz
Radio show blog: caminhosdojazz.blogspot.com