Serene Renegade

Editorial Reviews
Essence Magazine
Music’s Next Wave: An artist poised for stardom…Why We Like Her: Because she’s got moxie.

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".

Album 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.

Marie wrote nine of the 11 striking tunes on Serene Renegade, adding one standard, "Lover Man, O Where Can You Be" and "Hard Day’s Night" from John Lennon and Paul McCartney. She immerses herself fully in the emotion of the compositions and completely brings them to life along with the help of her touring band - Takana Miyamoto, piano; Herman Burney, bass; Quentin Baxter, drums – and her special guests, Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; and Roland Guerrero, percussion.

Serene Renegade

Tracks:

Red Shoes
The South Is Mine
Autobiography
Wishes
Pause
Hard Day's Night
Lover Man Oh Where Can You Be
Many Years Ago
Little Girl
Rufast Daliarg
Ode To A Flower

Album 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.

Marie wrote nine of the 11 striking tunes on Serene Renegade, adding one standard, "Lover Man, O Where Can You Be" and "Hard Day's Night" from John Lennon and Paul McCartney. She immerses herself fully in the emotion of the compositions and completely brings them to life along with the help of her touring band - Takana Miyamoto, piano; Herman Burney, bass; Quentin Baxter, drums - and her special guests, Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; and Roland Guerrero, percussion.

Customer Reviews:

Hang up that pen........2006-06-30

If there's a better singer on the jazz scene today than Rene Marie, I haven't heard her. Nobody matches her combination of astounding technique, pure tone and great big heart. And creative intelligence, too: she can take the moldiest standard or most unlikely pop tune and re-imagine it into something completely fresh and moving. Her bands and arrangements are always top-notch. I could go on and on -- her previous three MaxJazz disks are all 5-star beauties. Buy them all. Now, if only Rene could write songs like she sings them. Most of the songs on this CD are written in a prosey, tuneless, meterless modern style that makes poor use of her vocal talents. Her "I've had it real hard, but I'm tough and I'm gonna make it" subject matter is so heartfelt and sincere that I feel like a complete jerk for being annoyed by it. But there it is... maybe the songs are just so personal that I feel uncomfortable, maybe even unwelcome, listening in. "Little Girl" is downright cringe-inducing. I hope this wonderful singer has gotten the writing bug out of her system with Serene Renegade so she can carry on doing what she does better than anyone.

I love this Cd.......2005-11-06

This cd has such a great energy to it, and the musicianship is fantastic. The drummer Quentin Baxter is by far the most superior jazz drummer I have ever heard, and his work clearly fits in each piece Rene Marie puts together. It would be worthwhile to everyone to find more of Baxter's drumming, because he is unmatched in his soulful artistry. I reccomend this cd to everyone.

Another terrific album from an underrated singer.......2004-12-29

Wow! Just when I think I've got my "10 best of the year" list down, along comes another tremendous album to cause me to rethink the matter.

Rene Marie really reminds me of Carmen McRae. Not only are the ranges and timbres of the two voices similar, but both have a way of phrasing their songs, so as really to communicate the message of their music. Both are superb musicians.

Unlike Carmen, though, and unlike most chanteusses on the scene today, Rene Marie writes really strong songs. Here, all but two are originals. And as good as the covers are (a bluesy read of the Beatles' "Hard Day's Night" and a swinging cover of Billie/Carmen's "Lover Man", if you can believe that!), the originals are even better.

I particularly liked "Little Girl" and "Red Shoes," both autobiographical tomes which merit becoming standards someday. And after repeated listenings, I'm especially drawn to the stirring anthem, "The South Is Mine." But whether balladizing ("Wishes", for example), or swinging ("Rufast Daliarg"), Rene Marie is a complete artist.

Special mention to her sidemen, particularly Quentin Baxter (drums). Their backup is just right. And Jeremy Pelt's trumpet adds a nice wistfulness to those cuts which call for that.

I cannot remember a time in popular music history when so many supremely gifted jazz singers have done so much good work and gone so relatively unnoticed. Rene Marie, Lorraine Feather, Madeleine Peyroux, Jackie Ryan, Jackie Allen, Barbara Sfraga, Kendra Shank, Kitty Margolis, Madeleine Eastman, Tierney Sutton, Luciana Souza, Kate McGarry, Lisa Sokolov, Ann Dyer....The list just goes on and on. RC

Commendably bold and Different.......2004-12-17

Rene Marie, since I've known her music, has been different from the norm. In this new CD, she has really moved boldly away from the expectations of today's jazz vocalists. Look around, and you'll see jazz vocal albums full of well-worn standards, with maybe one or at the most two original compositions thrown in - it is expected (ignorantly and selfishly so) by the public to be that way. But, Rene goes against the grain and dares to deliver an album where, of 11 songs, 9 are hers. The fact that she is an artist relatively unknown, with just 5 albums overall, makes it all the more amazing. Even though her compositional abilities are quite adequate, it was still a bit hard to get into the music at first. Upon first listen, some of her songs seem to meander, and seem to go on a bit longer than necessary. After a few listens, though, you begin to really grasp it, and the music gets to you. Like another reviewer said, though, even though the musicians here are by no means incompetent, the band she had on her live album sounds much tighter and powerful than this one. To sum up, if you are open to the notion of a jazz "singer-songwriter" of sorts (a very rare ocurrence, indeed), then, the brave Rene Marie should be an artist to consider. To the already initiated Marie fan, beware: this album might be harder to get into than her previous ones, but you shouldn't fear - she is still as passionate and intense as she's ever been. I applaud her for being her own self at all costs, for refusing to fit into the nice little boxes jazz singers are expected to. Even though this might not be my favorite Marie album, she continues to be at the top of my list, because artists who show no fear, who dare to change, who sound like they are hungry to explore will always get my respect. Sadly, not many people appreciate these qualities nowadays - they prefer the tried-and-true, the cliches. But, fans of Rene Marie by definition go deeper than that. If you are one of those, dig in - you will not be dissappointed.

seRENE RENEgade.......2004-11-04

This, the fifth CD by Rene' (Renaissance under the name Rene' Croan) and four on the MazzJazz label, is not a quick listen. Serene Renegade is a CD to be studied. As I was writing this review, I notice again the title of this CD and saw her name repeated. And so it is that if one goes by first glance, first listen of SeRENE RENEgade only, they will miss out on a well thought out album, full of emotions, deeply personal, and thoughtful.

Since her debut, fans of Rene' Marie have long wished for an album that showcased her writing talents more prominently. All the songs on Serene Renegade were written and arranged by Rene' with the exception of two songs Hard Day's Night (Lennon & McCartney) and Lover Man Oh Where Can You Be (Davis, Ramirez, & Sherman) which Rene' "covers". Maybe "cover" is not the most appropriate word to use when an artist takes a song such as Hard Day's Night, unRocks it, blues it, swings it, and makes it her own. "Lover Man" is given new life by Rene' who is accompanied by Takana Miyamoto piano, Herman Burney bass and Quentin Baxter drums. On this "cover" Rene plays again with the tempo of the song, interjecting unexpected skips which seem to convey the notion of love's uncertainty. Additional album personnel are Jeremy Pelt trumpet and Roland Guerrero percussion

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