Rene Marie : NPR

Tiny Desk Playlist: The Quest For Black Freedom

Tiny Desk concert with Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. Julia Reihs/NPR hide caption

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Julia Reihs/NPR

Tiny Desk Playlists

Tiny Desk Playlist: The Quest For Black Freedom

February 5, 2021 • Dwandalyn Reece, the music curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, picks her five favorite Tiny Desk concerts.

Jazz Vocalist René Marie Is Determined To Craft Songs With Moral Conscience

Vocalist and songwriter René Marie. Lawrence Sumulong hide caption

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Lawrence Sumulong

Jazz Night In America

Jazz Vocalist René Marie Is Determined To Craft Songs With Moral Conscience

Jazz at Lincoln Center

March 26, 2020 • Jazz Night in America features music from vocalist and songwriter René Marie. We'll hear the stories behind her songs and how she helps people feel more vulnerable and less afraid.

Jazz Vocalist René Marie Is Determined To Craft Songs With Moral Conscience

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The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+ (180-161)

Noname performs at RBC Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats in Ottawa, Canada in July 2018. Mark Horton/Getty Images hide caption

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Mark Horton/Getty Images

The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+

The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+ (180-161)

July 30, 2018 • This list tackles history in the making, celebrating women and non-binary musicians whose songs are redefining genres and attitudes and changing our sense of what popular music can be in this century.

René Marie. Joe Boggess/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Joe Boggess/Courtesy of the artist

Song Travels

René Marie On 'Song Travels'

February 13, 2015 • Marie pays tribute to the late Eartha Kitt by performing "C'est si bon" and "My Heart Belongs to Daddy."

René Marie In The Studio

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On Singing, Sex And The Importance Of Being Eartha

Jazz singer René Marie's latest release is I Wanna Be Evil: With Love to Eartha Kitt. Janice Yim/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Janice Yim/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

On Singing, Sex And The Importance Of Being Eartha

April 26, 2014 • Performing Eartha Kitt's music, the jazz singer says, isn't just hero worship: It's a window into how power, seduction and vulnerability intertwine.

On Singing, Sex And The Importance Of Being Eartha

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Left to right: Rene Marie, Allan Harris and Carla Cook. Courtesy of Pat Harris hide caption

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Courtesy of Pat Harris

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater

'Two Skirts And A Shirt' On JazzSet

WBGO

March 20, 2014 • Rene Marie, Allan Harris and Carla Cook are in sweet harmony with a message in this concert from the KC Jazz Club in Washington, D.C.

'Two Skirts And A Shirt' On JazzSet

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Keith Sirchio/Courtesy of the artist

A Blog Supreme

The Best Jazz Of 2011

December 9, 2011 • Here are 10 examples of radical imagination, and radical re-imagination, in a great year for jazz.

Five Platters For Your Fourth Of July Picnic

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stu_spivak via Flickr

A Blog Supreme

Five Platters For Your Fourth Of July Picnic

WFIU

June 30, 2011 • As America's birthday approaches, here are five tasty offerings for your Fourth of July celebration.

How One Jazz Singer Imagines Her 'Beautiful Country'

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MaryLynn Gillaspie/Motema Music

A Blog Supreme

How One Jazz Singer Imagines Her 'Beautiful Country'

March 3, 2011 • Rene Marie's new album features her revisions, from moderate to radical, of traditional American songs, plus a few standards and odds and ends. For some, it's not without controversy — but it's certainly not without rich imagination, either.

Music Interviews

Poetic License Raises A Star-Spangled Debate

July 3, 2009 • Rene Marie grew up in the segregated South, and has become one of the few jazz singers today whose talent and devotion to social issues have both won her attention.

Poetic License Raises A Star-Spangled Debate

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Take Five: A Jazz Sampler

Evolution Of A Song: 'Strange Fruit'

June 22, 2009 • "Strange Fruit" can feel like a period piece, more a memorial than a protest song. Rare are the performers who have invested it with new meaning, fraught as it is with the legacy of America's past.

Music Interviews

Bringing Up Baby, As Music Lovers Might

April 15, 2009 • Music may or may not make babies smarter. But for new parents who are passionate about music, picking the first song their children will hear upon entering the world remains of great importance. A DJ, a critic and a musician talk about what they played for their newborns.

Bringing Up Baby, As Music Lovers Might

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Music Lists

The Many Sides Of 'The Star Spangled Banner'

January 20, 2009 • The story of Francis Scott Key's "Star Spangled Banner" is the stuff of grade-school history books. But the song has inspired some memorable interpretations in the recent past, as each performer imbues it with a personal take on patriotism.

Music Interviews

Singer Undeterred by National Anthem Fallout

July 7, 2008 • Jazz singer Rene Marie decided not to perform "The Star Spangled Banner" at a Denver civic event, and instead sang "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," known as the black national anthem. And that decision has been met with widespread scorn. Marie explains the fallout and why she doesn't regret her decision.

Singer Undeterred by National Anthem Fallout

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Music Interviews

Jazz Vocalist Rene Marie On 'Tavis Smiley'

November 12, 2003 • Jazz vocalist Rene Marie shares her music with NPR's Tavis Smiley, and discusses the remarkable story of her rise in the world of jazz.

Listen Now

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Music Interviews

Rene Marie: In Rehearsal, Part II

May 5, 2002 • Vocalist and songwriter Rene Marie likes to re-invent tunes by Billie Holiday, Enya, and the Beatles. Sunday on Weekend All Things Considered, she takes one of her own tunes to her band for the first time. Part two of two.

Rene Marie: In Rehearsal, Part II

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Music Interviews

Rene Marie: In Rehearsal, Pt. I

May 5, 2002 • Vocalist and songwriter Rene Marie likes to re-invent tunes by Billie Holiday, Enya, and the Beatles. Sunday on Weekend All Things Considered, she took one of her own tunes to her band for the first time. Part one of two.

Rene Marie: In Rehearsal, Pt. I

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