Personnel: Melody Gardot (vocals, guitar, piano); Barney McKenna, Jef Lee Johnson (guitar); Mike Brenner (lap steel guitar); David Mowry, Kurt Johnston (dobro); Diane Monroe (violin); Ron Kerber (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Stan Slotter, Patrick Hughes , Matt Cappy (trumpet); Joel Bryant (Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer organ); Charlie Patierno (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Glenn Barratt.
Photographer: Shervin Lainez.
Verve Records has purchased the rights to reissue vocalist Melody Gardot's debut recording, which came out in 2006. Two years after suffering a near fatal automobile accident, the differently able Gardot triumphed in accomplishing what many others, including her, could only dream of. This project has her singing and playing guitar and a little piano, but more so presenting this project of all original material. Gardot has an interesting personal story, but even more intriguing music that straddles the line between lounge jazz, folk, and cowgirl songs. She's part sophisticated chanteuse, college sophomore, and down-home girl next door. Her innocence, sweetness, and light are very alluring, much like the persona of tragic songbirds Eva Cassidy and Nancy LaMott. Feel empathy for Gardot, but don't patronize her -- she's the real deal much more that many of her over-hyped peers. "Quiet Fire" is definitely her signature tune, as it speaks volumes of where her soul is at, in a jazz/blues mode, yearning for true love. The title track follows a similar tack, a slow, sweet, sentimental slinky blues that will melt your heart. A finger-snapping "Goodnite" leaves you wanting that night to continue, but also exudes a hope that permeates the entire recording. She might be a bit down on men during the nonplussed "All That I Need Is Love," but her subdued optimism glows cool. "Sweet Memory" might possibly parallel Feist or perhaps KT Tunstall in a rural country mode, while "Gone" is clearly folkish, and the slow "Some Lessons" expresses a contemporary Nashville precept. The laid-back music behind Gardot is basically acoustic, incorporating hip jazz instrumentation, especially the trumpet of Patrick Hughes and occasional organ, Wurlitzer, or Fender Rhodes from Joel Bryant, but with twists including violin, lap steel, and Dobro. Clocking in at a scant 33 minutes, the concise nature of this recording and these tunes perfectly reflects the realization that life is precious, every moment counts, and satisfaction is fleeting. Likely to be placed in the Norah Jones/Nellie McKay/Madeleine Peyroux pseudo jazz/pop sweepstakes, Gardot offers something decidedly more authentic and genuine. She's one-upped them all out of the gate. ~ Michael G. Nastos
Professional Reviews
Uncut (p.90) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[Featuring] a gorgeous voice and a playful pop sensibility -- most noticeable on 'All That I Need Is Love'..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "An acoustic affair that lives in the hinterland of jazz, it oozes charm and individuality and doesn't attempt to be commercial
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Reviews
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The 23 year old Philadelphian turned to music while recovering from a horrific accident and her recovery process led to a new career.
Before the accident she'd already been working part-time as a lounge pianist to help fund her studies, playing tunes by Duke Ellington or Billy Joel against a hubbub of hecklers and clinking glasses, and one of her doctors said she should try music-making as part of her recovery process.
The recordings she made in a wheelchair at her hospital bedside were eventually released in 2005 as "Some Lessons - The Bedroom Sessions".
Picked up by the same DJ who discovered Norah Jones, Melody started gaining acclaim and signed to Universal/Verve.
Well, if you liked Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux's beguiling mix of jazz, blues, country and folk, then check out this young singer-songwriter-guitarist, whose voice is purer than Peyroux's but just as characterful and charming.
"Worrisome Heart" will appeal to anybody fond of Norah Jones or Madeleine Peyroux, though its understated bluesiness also seems to reach further back to the heyday of vintage American songwriting.
She displays a rare knack for imbuing music that can sound false or clichéd in lesser hands with a shivery sense of intimacy, as though she sneaked up behind you to blow in your ear. She looks the part, too, smiling quizzically from behind a Veronica Lake peek-a-boo hairstyle. Add a penchant for crimson shoes and lipstick and fishnet tights, and you have the kind of dame who'd know how to keep Humphrey Bogart in his place.
It is extremely sexy and intimate - listen no further than the title track or the groovy "Goodnite'" - and on swinging numbers, such as "All I Need Is Love", it has the bounce and ebullience of a young Billie Holiday.
It's also true that tracks like "Sweet Memory" and "Goodnite" have similarities to Norah Jones' standards but unsurprisingly this survivor also has an edge.
A rising star of the modern jazz scene, this album has 10 songs which evoke nights in dark, intimate clubs before smoking was banned.
This album deserves to have the same cultish success as Peyroux's Careless Love and Jones' "Come Away With me".
It's quality stuff and ideal for turning the lights down low to and allowing you to sink into the mellow, seductive sounds of Melody
What a brilliant voice and delightful music. If this is what an addiction is, give me more, I can't stop playing this.
No this is not good, it is devine.
What a brilliant voice and delightful music. If this is what an addiction is, give me more, I can't stop playing this.
No this is not good, it is devine.
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