All of us at Jazz Standard offer collective congratulations to René Marie, whose first album of all original compositions Sound of Red captured a GRAMMY Award nomination in the Jazz Vocal Category (the artist’s second GRAMMY nomination in this category). In a span of two decades, 11 recordings and countless stage performances, René Marie has cemented her reputation as not only a gifted singer but also a composer, arranger, theatrical performer and teacher. Guided and tempered by powerful life lessons and rooted in jazz traditions laid down by such leading ladies of past generations as Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington, René Marie alchemizes elements of folk, R&B and even classical and country music to cre­ate a captivating hybrid style. Her body of work is musical, but it’s more than just music: It’s an explora­tion of the bright and dark corners of the human experience, and an affirmation of the power of the human spirit. “I have never forgotten the early lessons learned about the power of music,” says René Marie. “Today, I try to imbue that feeling of emotion into every song I write and every song I sing – every time." René Marie – vocals John Chin – piano Elias Bailey – bass Quentin Baxter – drums