thinking web
HerStory
Genevieve grew up in Windsor, across the river from Detroit, the nesting ground of Motor City Soul. Daughter to a musician and social activist mother, her earliest inspirations bloom from an appreciation for folk musicians such as Joni Mitchell to Latin and jazz singers such as Flora Purim and Betty Carter. Under her mother's wing, in the family band, the young song-bird took to performing at the age of five. A child artist with a natural comprehension for *saudade while also equipped with an emotive grace on stage, her creative intuition would later guide her experimentation of classical and progressive mediums.
She spent her teenage years becoming a seasoned performer in Detroit and Windsor's clubs and casinos. Genevieve would embrace her encounters with Brazilian and house music while continuing a life-long love affair with jazz, further nurturing a voice suited to any genre.
Detroit electronic music buffs may peg Genevieve's luminous voice from Theo Parrish's series as she is featured on his new release The Rotating Assembly. Her signature soulful vocals can be heard on the three tracks: 'Ascension', 'The Mess I Made', and 'Split Me Open'. But her track 'You Forgot' featured on the Dirt Rhodes LP, upon release, was known as an instant Detroit classic.
She also appears on the funk drenched down-tempo track "M.I.A." alongside John Arnold (Ubiquity Records) on the album Cardiology , the debut full length of Recloose (Planet e Records). Other recordings include collaborations with Detroit-based producers Mike Agent X Clarke, Tony Ollivierra (IBEX) and Jerry "the cat" James.
In 2002, Genevieve spent a month in Paekakariki and Wellington, New Zealand recording with Recloose (Matt Chicoine) and Atlanta's Justin Chapman of Kemetic Just. This as yet unreleased material has been archived for an up and coming project called 'Te Manuhiri' which means 'the visitor' in Maori. However, one track from the sessions will be featured on Recloose's up coming second release on Peacefrog Records.
Living in Toronto, Genevieve has been honing her jazz chops, studying Latin and Brazilian music while continuing to write, perform and record with other local musicians and producers. She has collaborated with Moonstar (Kevin Moon), Middlefield, Steve Yanko, and sans soleil (Michael Trommer for Transmat Records). Also, in 2004 the talented songstress was invited to be the featured vocalist for six events with Toronto's most successful Latin-house promoters, 'Quadrasonic'.
Amid all of this exploration, Genevieve has managed to complete the Degree Program at Canada's premiere Jazz School, Humber College. Skilled and buoyant, her smooth technique has been molded from the most passionate of places - *saudade.
*Saudade
"Years ago I had the opportunity to visit the Blue Note in New York City and saw one of my icons, Flora Purim performing with her husband Airto Moreira. I asked her to define what she believed to be saudade. For me, personally, this is a term that I have come to describe my connection to Brazilian and jazz music. Flora cocked her head and replied, 'You know, there isn't really a great English equivalent for such an important word, and I think you are too young to understand it. Anyhow, it's sort of like the blues, a longing for love and happiness.'" - Genevieve Marentette
And it is this connection, saudade, that delicately threads itself between Genevieve and her music. This relationship is what sets her apart from the average performer. Her involvement with music is wholly possessing- a rapture that takes hold of both her and her audience. It's a pleasant gravity lathered in an esteemed charm. Her voice wears many faces, but is never deceitful. It has the ability to slip into any musical pocket it desires. Amorous, intimate and inviting, Genevieve's lustrous voice promises to melt and move you.