Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
René Marie will release Sound Of Red on Motéma Music on May 13.
(Photo: Photo: John Abbott)Vocalist René Marie, a Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist with a style firmly rooted in the blues, will add another album to her acclaimed discography. Motéma Music will release Sound Of Red on May 13.
The album, Marie’s first full program of original songs, will explore a range of styles and genres.
“The ‘Sound of Red’ attempts to cover the spectrum of human emotion,” said Marie, who also served as co-producer for all 11 of the album’s tracks.
Sound Of Red will be Marie’s fourth album for Motéma, having debuted on the label in 2011 with The Voice Of My Beautiful Country. She is joined on the project by musical guests that include saxophonist Sherman Irby, trumpeter Etienne Charles and guitarist Romero Lubambo.
The singer’s previous album—I Wanna Be Evil (Motéma), a tribute to actress, singer and activist Eartha Kitt—received a 4-star review in the January 2014 issue of DownBeat.
Below, DownBeat presents an exclusive album preview of the title track for Sound Of Red:
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will be among the headliners at this year’s DC JazzFest.
Mar 2, 2026 9:48 PM
The first wave of artists scheduled to perform at the 2026 DC JazzFest have been announced. This year’s headliners…
Blindfold Test proctor Ted Panken, left, with the Grammy-winning Nicole Zuraitis.
Feb 24, 2026 12:00 PM
After earning the 2024 Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy for her seventh album, How Love Begins (La Reserve), comprising 12…
“These days, with curated news, where people only get half the story, people can’t even speak to family members anymore,” Schneider laments.
Mar 10, 2026 1:43 PM
Maria Schneider is doing her part to try to fix what ails America. Which got her thinking about crows, specifically,…