As WBGO prepares to bid farewellto Rhonda Hamilton, we're dipping into our archives to share some of her favorite interviews from years past. She conducted this one, with singer René Marie, in 2013.
René was in town to perform on the Newark Museum's Jazz in the Garden concert series. As she sat down with Rhonda, they quickly went deep — beginning with the crossroads that led René to end her marriage for the pursuit of a singing career. She was in her 40s then, and her pace hasn't flagged since.
They also talked about René's drive to create original material — touching on the back story behind her tune "https://youtu.be/fAB1FjelYM4">This For Joe" — and the musical eclecticism that comes naturally to her. And they discussed an album that was then just on the horizon: I Wanna Be Evil: With Love To Eartha Kitt.
René Marie and Experiment in Truth perform at Dizzy's Club from Sept. 19-22. For more information, visit her website.