Piece Description

Rene Marie didn't perform at all for more than 20 years -- unless you count singing to her sons as they were growing up. When her boys were toddlers, she used to sing them lullabies and Ella Fitzgerald songs. After they went off to college, her sons convinced her to start singing in public. Now a rising star in the jazz world. Rene Marie thrives on reinventing jazz standards. She also has given her own twist to tunes by Enya, the Beatles, and even Maurice Ravel. In this feature, Rene Marie shows how she came up with her radical reinterpretation of the Beatles' 'Blackbird'. She also demonstrates her startling talent for imitating earlier singers -- a talent she realized she needed to move beyond in order to assert her own voice as a musician. As in all the pieces in David Schulman's CPB-supported Musicians in their own words series, the story is told through a mix of the performer's voice and music. There is no reporter's voice heard, allowing the feature to be seamlessly incorporated into station news, talk, or music programming. Scripts for intro and outro are attached, and may be edited at will. This feature works especially well when pegged to local performances. Rene Marie's tour schedule includes these dates: 11/5 & 6 The Jazz Factory Louisville, KY This piece has aired on stations including WBUR, WAMU and KUOW.