Vail Jazz hosts vocalist

Rene Marie’s very first memory is a musical one. But unlike so many musicians — jazz musicians in particular — her professional career did not begin soon thereafter. Before the Virginia native was a Grammy-nominated singer, she was a wife; married at age 18. Then she was a mother, a janitor, a McDonald’s employee, a grocery store clerk and a banker. Learn more at VailDaily.com

The Jazz Singer as a Storyteller

In the digital world we inhabit, our ability to hear songs that we love is so effortless that we forget that it wasn’t always this easy. The other night I was in the mood to hear some Billie Holiday so I simply told Alexa to play “God Bless the Child” and voila, instantaneously I was hearing one of the greatest jazz recordings of all time. WHAT A TREAT! The jukebox in the sky. Before sound recording, if you wanted to hear a chosen tune, you either sung it yourself or had to be in the presence of someone who would sing it for you. So the default setting for most was to try to sing it themselves.  Learn more here.

Rene Marie receives GRAMMY nomination

Sound of Red – Rene Marie’s first ever all original album captures Grammy Nomination in the Jazz Vocal Category. The 59th Grammy Awards will be held on February 12th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. This is Rene’s second Grammy nomination in this category.

 

2017 Already?

We are happy to share that Experiment In Truth will be performing on The Jazz Cruise the last week of January!  Hang out in your cruise-wear and listen to some of the most creative jazz musicians today. Get your tickets here. Also Experiment in Truth and I will be at the Weisiger Theatre in Danville, KY January 14th. Get more info here.  February 24th, I will host a residency at the Boise State University and on the 25th will be joined again by my group. Learn more here.

A Tribute to Sarah Vaughan

After a jaw-dropping success with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra earlier this year, René Marie,  Ann Hampton-Callaway and Dee Alexander will bring their celebratory Sarah Vaughan Tribute to The College of Wooster in Ohio on September 17. The performance will be conducted by Jeffrey Lindberg and the singers will be accompanied by the critically acclaimed Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. More details here.

PREVIEW: LondonJazzNews

Rene Marie is nothing if not brave. She sang The Star Spangled Banner at Denver’s 2008 State of the City address, substituting the original words with those of James Weldon Johnson’s so-called black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” It created a political firestorm. “I cannot apologize for offending others with my music. It goes with the risky territory of being an artist,” says Marie, who acknowledges the “huge, huge” influence of Nina Simone. Continue reading here.

Tiny Desk Concerts

The Colorado River — better known for running through majestic National Parks and powering hydroelectric dams — forms an unlikely backdrop for the creation of a jazz song. But René Marie was answering phones at Denver’s jazz radio station KUVO when she sat down across from a fellow volunteer fundraiser. He would soon invite her on a canoeing trip and, without yet having seen the eponymous river, she wrote the giddy “Colorado River Song” on the way there. Continue reading here.

René Marie at PizzaExpress Live

London Jazz Workshop and Music Festival brings a dynamic festival to Pizza Express for a dazzling series of concerts, workshops and “after hours” sessions, featuring some of the world’s leading Jazz Artists and showcasing the next generation of stars. Among this year participant are Rene Marie, New York piano giant Bruce Barth, European multi award winning saxophone star Perico Sambeat and masterful Italian percussionist a Francesco Petreni, as well as top British artists and many more sensational musical treats from the around the world. More info here.