Rene Marie kicks off the Women In Jazz Festival

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World's Largest Women's Jazz Festival will be held from September 4 to October 1 2006 at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. This exciting festival features some of the best jazz vocalists and instrumentalists on the scene today and begins with René Marie (vocals) with Kevin Bales (piano), Rodney Jordan (bass), Quentin Baxter drums) on September 4-5. René Marie has taken the jazz world by surprise. The 1998 release of her self-produced debut CD, "Renaissance", turns the formerly bouncy Mr. Sandman into a steamy stroll through restless yearning and exposes Tennessee Waltz as a gut-bucket blues-yodel about lust and betrayal, revealing the artistry and abandon with which René Marie claims new ownership of time-worn standards. On "How Can I Keep From Singing?" her first release on the MAXJAZZ label, 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 the love-passion conundrum, "Don?t Look At Me Like That", to the controversial pairing of the confederate anthem "Dixie" with the anti-lynching lament "Strange Fruit". The Academie du Jazz(Paris, France) selected Vertigo The Best International Jazz Vocal CD of 2002. Other nominees were Joni Mitchell and Cassandra Wilson. Jazz Times Magazine UK selected Vertigo the Top Jazz Vocal CD of 2002. In just the third week of being released, Rene's recent CD, Live At Jazz Standard, reached number 20 on the Billboard Jazz Chart.

Jazz critics and reviewers have tried to suggest that René is from the same mold as other great jazz vocalists of the past. Though not bad company to be in, these singers are not her true influences. René's life journey took her in directions that brought an eclectic group of musical and creative sources to her attention. During her formative years in her hometown of Warrenton, Va., she listened to Maurice Ravel, Hank Williams, and Harry Belafonte, and learned harmony from Peter, Paul & Mary and the Beatles. Four years after moving to Roanoke, Va. she was taking classical piano lessons while at the same time singing in R&B bands. Sly and the Family Stone, Roberta Flack, Nina Simone and James Brown were some of her tutors in rhythm, emotional intensity and improvisation.

Married at 18 and a mother of two sons by 23, René took a hiatus from singing in public to raise her family. But this shift in focus proved to be a period of incubation. Rene started listening to jazz and began, for the first time, to compose. She continued to sing at home - exposing herself and her sons to a wide variety of music genres, including show tunes, jazz, hip-hop, world music and rap. Her jazz influences read more like a recipe Joe Zawinul's energy and insistence on originality, Strayhorn's moods and Monk's quirky note choices. All these elements, plus a wealth of life experiences, contribute to the open and adventurous spirit in her arrangements and compositions, distinguishing her from the rest of the pack. Most of all, Rene learned the importance of exploring the depths of a melodic story, taking chances and giving old standards new meaning and possibilities. Perhaps enigmatic artists like René Marie make traditionalists a bit uncomfortable, but Rene has proven that truly listening to one's own voice is the very core of jazz artistry.

René Marie's live performances can only be described as a transformation. The soft-spoken artist takes to the stage and turns it into a voodoo possession with her band. Her burning rhythms and tonal density make each song an experience beyond the typical jazz presentation. She swoops, yodels, seduces and conjures notes that leave the audience emotionally drained and satisfied. René Marie is a formidable artist at a time when the jazz world is desperately trying to decide who will be the "new leaders" of jazz.

The festival continues with Ann Hampton Callaway (vocals) w/ Ted Rosenthal (piano), Jay Leonhart (bass) & Victor Lewis (drums) on September 6-10, Jane Bunnett (soprano saxophone, flute) & The Spirits of Havana w/ Larry Kramer (trumpet), Osmany Paredes (piano), Junior Terry (bass), Jumpin' Johnny Sansone (accordion), Arturo Stable (congas), Dafnis Prieto (drums) & special guest Howard Johnson (trombone) on September 11-12, Marian McPartland (piano) Trio w/ Gary Mazzaroppi (bass), Glenn Davis (drums) on September 13-17, Datevik Hovanesian (vocals) w/ Bob Albanese (piano), Joe Fitzgerald (bass), Marcello Pellitteri (drums) 7:30pm and Tia Fuller (saxophones) Quintet w/ Freddie Hendrix (trumpet), Miki Hayama (piano), Miriam Sullivan (bass), Kim Thompson (drums) 9:30pm on September 18, Eliane Elias (piano, vocals) & All Across the City w/ Marc Johnson (bass), Satoshi Takeishi (drums) & Rubens de La Corte (guitar) on September 19-24, Patrice Rushen (piano), Trio w/ Terri Lyne Carrington (drums)
Sept. 27-Oct. 1 Karrin Allyson (vocals) & Nancy King (vocals) w/ Bruce Barth Trio; Bruce Barth (piano), Bob Bowmen (bass), Todd Straight (drums) on September 25-26

Photo by Jimmy Katz

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