Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ren: Vertigo

124

Ren: Vertigo

By

View read count
Accurate and crisp with a soulful delivery, singer René Marie brings new life to old standards. These are the songs that we recognize automatically. All it takes is a few bars. Natural and personable, Marie brings her second recording as a leader around as straight-ahead and familiar. She pushes the envelope far enough, however, to prove her point: that jazz can entertain and venture into creative territory at the same time. Her arrangements allow plenty of room for freedom. With Chris Potter and Bob Hurst, for example, she turns "It's All Right With Me" into a spiritual encounter. The title track, an original, celebrates her adventurous intentions with Latin jazz landscapes superimposed over quirky syncopation from Potter and pianist Mulgrew Miller. Conversing wildly, the two instrumentalists meld with rhythm section and vocalist to push in all directions. Scatting and storytelling, Marie summons up the spirits of modern jazz. Her natural talent allows standards to fall gently into place, while Marie's thirst for creative adventure introduces much more. Surrounded by a stellar cast, she's able to exercise that authority among like-minded artists. Her voice quality and superb musicianship recall Irene Kral, while Marie's artistic courage moves her far beyond the usual. It's a highly recommended outing from an outstanding jazz artist.

Track Listing

Them There Eyes; Surrey With the Fringe On Top; I'd Rather Talk About You; Don't Look At Me Like That; I Only Have Eyes For You; It's All Right With Me; Vertigo; Detour Ahead; Moonray; Dixie/Strange Fruit; Blackbird.

Personnel

Ren

Album information

Title: Vertigo | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: MAXJAZZ

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.