Self-taught and more or less sequestered as a mom for 20 years, Marie reemerged as a jazz singer in 1996 at the urging of her son, then a sophomore at Stanford University. The career path she had set out upon as the 15-year-old lead singer for the Randolph Brothers – an R&B band in her hometown, Roanoke, Va. – turned sharply when she married at 18. By the time she was 23, she had her hands full as the mother of two young sons.
She may have left the stage to care for her children, but Marie never stopped singing, and her passion for jazz only intensified during its 20-year incubation.
Marie’s award-winning recordings include Serene Renegade (2004), Live at Jazz Standard (2003), Vertigo (2001), and How Can I Keep from Singing? (2000). Since her return to the scene, the 40-something artist has emerged as a formidable talent certainly destined to be, as one critic called her, “one of the new leaders of jazz."
“Make sure to remember the name: René Marie...a jazz singer with the talent, the imagination and the sheer brilliance to be included in the very top level of performers." – The Los Angeles Times
“Sheer brilliance...one of the most sensuous songbirds ever captured on disc. Marie’s torch burns hotter and oft-times brighter than any of her peers." – Jazz Times
“Marie may have started down her path later than most in her field, but she has made up for lost time with her emotionally riveting performances, bringing a vibrancy to the bandstand that’s matched by few performers of any age." – San Jose Mercury News
For more information on René Marie, visit http://www.renemarie.com.
Individual tickets are: General $20/Senior, university faculty and staff $17/Student $10/University student and GSA families $5.
To purchase tickets online from the arts365 virtual box office, visit: http://www.unr.edu/arts. To purchase tickets by phone, call 1-800-225-2277. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Lawlor Events Center box office, open weekdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
For more about the Performing Arts Series, visit http://www.unr.edu/pas or call (775) 784-4046. Email: [email protected]. For additional performance, gallery and arts events at the University of Nevada, Reno, visit the arts365 Calendar website: http://www.unr.edu/arts. Email: [email protected].
Funding for the Performing Arts Series is provided in part by the University of Nevada, Reno School of the Arts and Extended Studies; the Associated Students of the University of Nevada and the Graduate Student Association; the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency; National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the City of Reno Arts and Culture Commission; For the Love of Jazz; and Sierra Arts Foundation. The series is media-sponsored by KUNR-FM 88.7 with direct-mail assistance from JLH, Inc. Accommodations for guest artists have been provided by the Sands Regency Casino Hotel.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
