New York, NY (Top40 Charts) "In the years of this millennium, some extraordinary singers have come along. We can hear in them Ella or
Sarah or Nat or Billie, and some of them we already know by one name. Cat. Cyrille. Gregory. Cecile. Sound of Red is a new album from ... René." - WBGO
René Marie's acclaimed 2016 album Sound of Red has been honored with a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. It's been a "remarkable path to jazz" (NPR) for René Marie. As a fearless force in the contemporary jazz world, René has never been afraid to look into the more challenging places of human experience where love and contentment give way to discord and struggle. Sound of Red is a musical statement that, according to René, "attempts to cover the spectrum of human emotion." The album's 11 songs - most of them autobiographical - provide glimpses of the many small but profound turning points that are a part of an individual's life.
Sound of Red has also been named one of the Best Albums of 2016 by NPR in their year-end music rankings.
René Marie is currently available for select interviews.
This is the second Grammy nomination for Marie, whose 2013 tribute album I Wanna Be Evil (With Love to Eartha Kitt) also received a nod for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Sound of Red features two-thirds of her longstanding trio - bassist
Elias Bailey and co-producer, drummer Quentin Baxter, both of whom have been a part of her backup crew for fifteen years, with newcomer pianist John Chin. René summoned special guests for final polishing, like saxophonist Sherman Irby who delivers a bold solo on its title track. Trumpeter Etienne Charles is another guest of honor who performed on and arranged the horn sections - Michael Dease on trombone and
Diego Rivera on tenor saxophone - for "If You Were Mine," and the endorphin-lifting tune "Joy of Jazz." The rich and sensual "Certaldo," dedicated to the Italian town of the same name, gets its sensibility from guest guitarist
Romero Lubambo.
Compassion and despair fuel "This Is (Not) a Protest Song," a song tackling the plight of homelessness that affected her family as a young girl. "We were homeless for a few months. It was an experience that you don't forget after you're through it," said René. Her tumultuous past coupled with a wealth of perspective on life's highs and lows inform these songs that dig deep into the hearts of a broad audience. "I wrote these songs to create a safe place for people to tune in to their emotions and perhaps deal with them in a way that they might not be able to do otherwise."
Sound of Red is available for purchase via iTunes.
