Serene Renegade

Review Musics Next Wave: An artist poised for stardom Why We Like Her: Because shes got moxie. --Essence Magazine Product Description René Marie sings about life and the art of living it fully. On Serene Renegade, her 4th CD for MAXJAZZ, she sings not only about her remarkable story but also those of her father, her mother, her sister and brother and her sons. With this recording, she reminds the listener of her great ability to mine the spirit of a song and interpret it in affecting fashion. From the Artist Once upon a time, all I did was wish. But to wish is to relinquish my power to a force not my own. Today there is no "wish"; there is only "do". About the Artist Vocalist, composer and musical risk-taker, René Marie has taken the jazz world by surprise. While her story may be unusual - how she didn't sing in public for more than 20 years, how she finally left her husband and job at a bank in 1998 to launch a music career and succeeded so quickly it has been through her recordings that she has proven she is worth lauding even if she had the most ordinary of backgrounds. On her 1998 self-produced debut CD, Renaissance, she turns the formerly bouncy "Mr. Sandman" into a steamy stroll through restless yearning and renders "Tennessee Waltz" as a gut-bucket blues-yodel about lust and betrayal, revealing how Marie claims new ownership of time-worn standards. On How Can I Keep From Singing?, her MAXJAZZ debut, she hits the ground running with a positive interpretation of "God Bless the Child" at a blistering tempo, then abruptly shifts gears by pairing the spiritual "Motherless Child" with a graphic portrayal of "Four Women." Vertigo, her second MAXJAZZ project, is full of emotional and vocal twists and turns in a musical landscape that covers everything from Maries original love-passion conundrum, "Dont Look At Me Like That", to the controversial pairing of the confederate anthem "Dixie" with the anti-lynching lament "Strange Fruit." On her last recording, Live At Jazz Standard, she scores a juxtaposed musical coup by opening Leonard Cohens "Suzanne" with a scatted, a cappella version of Maurice Ravels "Bolero" to create what one reviewer described as an "astonishing and goose-bump raising centerpiece." The music world has definitely been moved by Marie. The Academie du Jazz in France selected Vertigo the Best International Jazz Vocal CD of 2002. The other nominees were Joni Mitchell and Cassandra Wilson. Both JazzTimes (U.S.) and Jazz Review (UK) chose Vertigo as one of the best CDs of 2002 while DownBeat critics voted her one of their "Rising Star Vocalists." Her third MAXJAZZ release, Live At Jazz Standard, hit the top 20 on Billboards jazz chart a month before its official release. Her first two CDs also topped the jazz charts and won AFIM (Association for Independent Music) Awards for Best Jazz & Cabaret Vocal. [Others nominated included Karrin Allyson, Jimmy Scott, Nnenna Freelon and Susannah McCorkle.] How Can I? was selected as one of the top five jazz albums of 2000 by SESAC (Society for Stage Authors and Composers), joining Tom Harrell, Stefon Harris and Greg Osby as the best in their field. National Public Radio (NPR) touted her as one of the most innovative and exciting vocalists to come upon the jazz scene. And prestigious venues like The Kennedy Center, Jazz At Lincoln Center, Le Jazz Au Bar and the Jazz Standard have called upon her. Shes performed at major festivals and halls around the world including in Portugal, Russia and France.
ASIN: B0002ZDW1W
VSKU: DBV.B0002ZDW1W.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:René Marie
Binding: Audio cd
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.
Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case may show wear and may be in library packaging. Ships Fast!