It's a miracle the young American singer Melody Gardot's still alive, let alone on her way to being the next Norah Jones or Madeleine Peyroux, as, when she was 19, she had a serious bike accident. While she was in hospital recovering, Gardot discovered a singer-songwriting talent through music therapy - and she sounds as if she has learned her art in privacy and some distress, only releasing a note once it's burnished to a perfect pale sheen. Her evocative vibrato suggests an introverted Edith Piaf, and she specialises in rather self-denying love songs. This followup to her successful Worrisome Heart is mostly wistful, sometimes strings-accompanied originals - though Somewhere Over the Rainbow gets some twists to the tune and a Latin groove. There are several short horn solos (most effectively from cool school alto-saxist Gary Foster), while the earthier tracks have an arresting, Cassandra Wilson-like bluesy snap or a raucous, New Orleans clamour (Your Heart Is Black As Night), and the title track is a compelling vehicle for Gardot's tendency to sing as if she is anxious not to disturb the air. Some might find the I'll-do-anything-for-you agenda and rolling of her Rs in her occasional modest scats a little annoying, but at her best she's poignant and honest, and has a voice and a story of her own.
Contributor
John Fordham
John Fordham is the Guardian's main jazz critic. He has written several books on the subject, reported on it for publications including Time Out, Sounds, Wire and Word, and contributed to documentaries for radio and TV. He is a former editor of Time Out, City Limits and Jazz UK, and regularly contributes to BBC Radio 3's Jazz on 3
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