Worrisome Heart - Melody Gardot Album Review

Melody Gardot: link

Album Review

Jazz debutant...heavenly...mhhhh.

"Oh no", I hear you cry. Not another Norah Jones. Well, actually, no.

Jones' debut left me wondering what all the fuss was all about. That's not the case with 23 year old Melody Gardot, because this young lady is a sensation and in a class of her own.

After a near fatal bicycle accident when she was 19, Melody Gardot's doctor recommended music therapy to get over her trauma. Following this therapy to develop cognitive functions, she embarked on a music career. She did have an interest in performing as a child, and later playing piano in piano bars, doing cover versions, so it was something she thought that would be natural, and make her happy. It's worked. Due to pelvic injury she was unable to sit at a piano, so her mum bought her an acoustic guitar, enabling her to transfer what she knew from piano to guitar. Her influences are Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Miles Davis, Perry Como and an array of Brazilian musicians. The pleasant outcome is her stunning debut Worrisome Heart, so turn down the lights and pop the red wine. Her beguiling showing on a recent Later...with Jools Holland showcased a singer on top of her game.

The pace is relaxed and totally laid back perfectly matching this quality singer's vocal and musical style, who has learnt a lot from Billie Holiday's phrasing and delivery. It's not just straight jazz though as she draws on bluesy and folky elements such as Gone and Sweet Memory creating a late night vibe, and they're all originals too. The nuances and inflections are near damned perfect, creating a cool and sophisticated ambience at just about every level. Bringing what must surely be her experiences as a bar-player, she gets Dave Posmontier to twinkle the keys and Matt Cappy's tinny trumpet to sharpen the edges on the urban cool Worrisome Heart with band hanging together, almost ghosting in the distance. Upping the pace, All That I Need To Know is strikingly like Madeleine Peyroux. Seeking a 'best track' is nigh on impossible, though Quiet Fire jumps out as one, where she dishes out the sensuality in bucket loads, as she gives a masterclass with some nifty vocal gymnastics. Sweetly sung, One Day is a contemporary classic principally due to the simple acoustic guitar by Gardot and trumpet by Stan Slotter. She also hits great form on moody and snail-paced ballad Love Me Like A River Does, given additional class by Matt Cappy's ghostly trumpet. Paul Klinefelter's double bass-lines intro Goodnite, a smooth and sensual shuffle while Gardot's dulcet tones ride over the ultra-cool pace like shimmering silk.

File under : Total class!

Elly Roberts