Renowned vocalist René Marie is one of the highly anticipated 2024 Charleston Jazz Festival headliners. She and her band, Experiment in Truth, will appear at the Charleston Music Hall on Friday, April 19th at 5 pm. René's performances reflect her survival spirit as she courageously rose above her dramatic backstory and uses the power of music to spread hope and healing. Special guests in her band include Grammy Award-winner Quentin Baxter of Ranky Tanky fame, and Wycliffe Gordon. Tickets range between $10-$65 and are available at CharlestonJazz.com.
Being born the fifth of seven children in Warrenton, Virginia, René absorbed a wide variety of music during her childhood – blues, folk, opera, bluegrass, and classical – and studied piano for two years. After her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to Roanoke, Virginia, and began singing in R&B bands. She composed her first original song when she was 15, and by 18, she joined a strict religion that required her to stop singing. When her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to Roanoke, Virginia, and began singing in R&B bands. She composed her first original song when she was 15, and by 18, she joined a strict religion that required her to stop singing. She married a former bandmate of the same faith, had two sons, and began working at a bank. At age 42, René listened to the encouragement of her older son, who knew she needed to sing again. She started singing for tips one night a week in a smoky hotel bar with the house band, and, within a year, had established her own trio, JazzBone. Initially supportive, her husband quickly became disenchanted with “her success” and issued an ultimatum: stop singing or leave their home. Tension over the issue escalated from emotional abuse to domestic violence. René left the house and ultimately the marriage behind.
"Something happened when I started interacting creatively with musicians again. A part of my personality came back to life, a part I had surrendered. The music allowed me to act as my own advocate and defend myself. When my husband gave that ultimatum, I didn’t leave because I wanted so badly to sing. I left because the idea of being with someone who thought it was okay to dictate the terms of my life was untenable." –René Marie
Over the next 18 months, René made a flurry of monumental life changes. She moved to Richmond, Virginia; divorced her husband of 23 years; left the bank and her religion; produced her first CD Renaissance (1999); won the title role in the Richmond world premiere production of “Ella and Her Fella, Frank”; and signed to the Maxjazz record label. In 2000, Maxjazz released How Can I Keep from Singing, which immediately grabbed the jazz industry’s attention. Three more acclaimed albums on the label followed: Vertigo (2001), Live at Jazz Standard (2003), and Serene Renegade (2004) along with glowing national press.
In 2005, René moved to Denver and assumed creative ownership of her career, self-releasing and co-producing her 6th release, Experiment in Truth (2007). In 2008, she originated and produced “Two Skirts and A Shirt,” a show of 70’s protest music that toured nationally and featured jazz vocalists Carla Cook and Allan Harris. She wrote and starred in Slut Energy Theory: U’Dean, a heralded one-woman musical drama about overcoming abuse and incest, which premiered at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York City in October 2009. Its soundtrack became her seventh recording. Always focused on healing and giving back, René launched a series of vocal therapy group sessions in 2010 that she called SLAM.
"I’ve never been to college or received any professional training. So, at times, I can feel a bit anxious about my ability to convey my personal approach to singing while overseeing the business. I’ve learned that many musicians have these same struggles. However, I also know what I know, and that has come from a lot of performing experience and vulnerability on the stage. SLAM helps singers use their natural voice and personality to find their sweet spots as performers. And I do what I can to help my fellow vocalists claim their story and their power in every way." –René Marie
René has a deeply personal understanding of music’s capacity to change lives. Together with her touring and recording group, Experiment in Truth, she fearlessly explores the nooks and crannies of the human psyche and experience. Songs about inner strength, family ties, self-determination, and positivity are on her set list along with those about homelessness, domestic abuse, depression, and addiction. René is a frequent star guest of Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Count Basie Orchestra, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and many more that tap into big, brassy celebrations of fun and sass.
I have never forgotten the early lessons learned about the power of music. I try to strike a balance with the right amount of light and dark into every musical offering. I am very happy to be alive today, doing the things I love to do – singing, composing, arranging, writing, teaching – reaching people and unleashing the power of our emotions." –René Marie
