Home » Jazz Musicians » Melody Gardot
Melody Gardot
Pull down your shades and light some candles. A simple, yet poignant blend of jazz and folk is headed your way. At 22, singer-songwriter Melody Gardot has a hauntingly smooth voice that can melt even the coldest of hearts.
Melody Gardot has set the bar for what it means to be a musical athlete. Drenched in a sublime vapor of mellow blues, eclectic folk, and the faintest essence of jazz, she breaks forth with her debut full length album, Worrisome Heart. The record is an effervescent 11-track collection of original songs co-produced by Melody Gardot and Grammy-Award winning producer Glenn Barratt. With a superb narrative and inventive vocal-scat patterns, the pianist/guitarist tackles heartache full on by way of velvet tongue and alluring disposition.
Few females successfully master the art of capturing mood and emotion the way Gardot does. There is an expressive candor and yearning in her voice—an insatiable longing reminiscent of greats like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nina Simone. Her roots as a piano player in nightclubs of Philadelphia undoubtedly set the framework for developing her post-midnight sultry sound. Though a motor vehicle accident left the young singer disabled, hidden behind dark glasses and a tempting smile is an extraordinary young woman whose daily struggles feed her artistic pursuit:
“I believe in sharing your heart with people, no matter how hard it may be” says Gardot.
At the age of 19, Gardot was hit by a car while riding a bicycle. The injuries sustained mean Gardot now needs to wear dark glasses and carry a cane. Prompted by a tending physician who believed music would help her regain some of her former cognitive abilities, her first musical venture was in 2005, an EP titled, “Some Lessons” recorded from her bedside.
Gardot’s story garnered attention as a fighter who has overcome adversity and risen above her limitations. City Paper Philadelphia honored her with a People’s Choice award saying, “To our eyes, nobody's a more inspiring, more talented fighter than young singing-songwriter phenom Melody Gardot. She turned the pain of a life-changing car accident into surprisingly mature and utterly enthralling music.”
“It was a most unusual start, but when you come from a place where things are tough it makes it that much easier to appreciate the times when life is easy.” she says.
In addition to the trio of musicians who accompany Gardot live, the record features an impressive cast of musicians including guitarist Jef Lee Johnson (Billy Joel, George Duke, Aretha Franklin), Kurt Johnston (Bon Jovi) and trumpeter Matt Cappy (Jill Scott, Kirk Franklin, Dave Chapelle Movie).
Read moreTags
Melody Gardot: Sunset in the Blue - The Deluxe Version
by William H. Snyder
Henri Matisse, the master of the use of color, said, “Art should be something like a good armchair in which to rest from physical fatigue." Melody Gardot's Sunset in the Blue: The Deluxe Version shows its mastery, in both the color of its cover design and the execution of its musicianship. Back in the day, Matisse got in trouble with some art critics for his simile. Some listeners might have a similar reaction to Melody's music, but not all. Gardot's ...
Continue ReadingMelody Gardot: Sunset in the Blue
by Scott Gudell
Melody Gardot emerged from her own smoky shadows of the mid-2000s as if she were some femme fatale emanating from a film noir movie. The plot twist was that she was the good girl, but it was her body that had been damaged in an auto accident. An extensive recovery followed. Her long, lean cane only reinforced her long, lean looks. The shades added just a touch of mystery. If there was anything positive, it was that she confronted the ...
Continue ReadingMelody Gardot at the Merriam Theater
by Victor L. Schermer
Melody Gardot Merriam Theater Philadelphia, PA October 9, 2015 In this highly touted concert, Philadelphia born and bred vocalist Melody Gardot made a return visit to her home town after several years on the road in Europe and other destinations where her stunning voice and soul-stirring original songs have grabbed the world's attention. Her loyal fans know her life-changing story of a bicycle accident and the severe brain trauma it inflicted, with music playing ...
Continue Reading44 Voll-Damm Festival Internacional de Jazz de Barcelona: Melody Gardot
by Pep Salazar
Melody Gardot44 Voll-Damm Festival Internacional de Jazz de BarcelonaPalau de la Música16 Noviembre 2012Melody Gardot es carne de escenario. Es pura potencia e intensidad. Es consciente de todo eso, y actúa en consecuencia. Tiene un control absoluto de lo que pasa en el escenario y la proyección hacia el público, al que controla desde el primer minuto. Un público entregado previamente. La mayoría ya conoce a esta bestia escénica de Nueva Jersey y todos tienen ...
Continue ReadingMelody Gardot and New York Pops Open Central Park Summerstage 2010
by Ernest Barteldes
Melody Gardot and the New York PopsCentral Park/Mainstage Rumsey Playfield New York, New YorkJune 1, 2010
For the opening of the 2010 Central Park Summerstage concert series, the New York Pops (which also performed at the 2009 opener) kicked off with versions of Dave Brubeck's “Blue Rondo a La Turk" and Duke Ellington's “It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" before welcoming Melody Gardot, who came on with her ...
Continue ReadingMelody Gardot at the Kimmel Center
by Victor L. Schermer
Melody GardotThe Kimmel Center for the Performing ArtsPhiladelphia, PAOctober 17, 2009“A Star is Born" is the only adequate way to characterize singer-composer Melody Gardot's appearance on the stage of the Perelman Theater of the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia on October 17. While the recent buzz surrounding her debut recordings are all about her fine jazz and blues vocalizing with a sensual flair, neither the media spin nor her first two albums prepare one for the ...
Continue ReadingMelody Gardot: My One And Only Thrill
by Ian Patterson
The old saying 'stick to what you know' has paid handsome dividends for Melody Gardot, for in writing her own songs she is able to express her considerable talent to the full. With the exception of one non-original, (a Brazilian tinged “Somewhere Over the Rainbow") these self penned songs show that Gardot is a poet bursting with lyricism and a balladeer of real class, spiced with panache. Gardot's voice is her own, but exhibits the intimacy of Peggy Lee, the ...
Continue ReadingPhiladelphia Jazz at the Kimmel Center in October: Lizz Wright and Danilo Perez Trio Pay Tribute to Billie Holiday; Christian McBride and Friends; and Melody Gardot
Source:
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Philadelphia has a long history as a vibrant and pulsating jazz community. This October, the Kimmel Center turns the spotlight on Philadelphia-born jazz luminaries who continue to evolve America’s indigenous art form. Philly’s own bass virtuoso Christian McBride celebrates the 20th anniversary of his musical work in a performance with Grammy® Award-winning pianist Bruce Hornsby, his new quintet Inside Straight and other special guests (Friday, October 16, 2009).
Rising star vocalist Melody Gardot performs works from her critically acclaimed sophomore ...
read more
Watch Melody on the Late Show with David Letterman | Melody Gardot | News
Source:
All About Jazz
Melody Gardot on the Late Show with David Letterman | Melody Gardot | News
Source:
All About Jazz
Melody Gardot's "My One and Only Thrill" in Sores Now!
Source:
Verve Label Group
With her debut album Worrisome Heart, Melody Gardot displayed her instinctive gift for transforming the traditions of jazz and blues with “her personal kiss of life.” But even her most ardent admirers will be amazed at the giant creative leap forward she has taken with the follow-up, My One and Only Thrill. Mixing Latin rhythms, finger-snapping blues and deep, smoldering torch songs, it’s an album that seems to have been shaped from several lifetimes of love, loss and longing. Though ...
read more
Singer/Songwriter Melody Gardot Interviewed at AAJ
Source:
All About Jazz
Over the course of two much-lauded albums, singer/songwriter Melody Gardot has garnered a reputation many spent far longer to achieve. Still, it didn't come easily to Gardot, who never set pen to paper until an accident that almost left her in a wheelchair permanently.
Still, adversity can provide the greatest source material for songwriting, and even greater perspective on life, and as Gardot has grown as a songwriter between Worrisome Heart (Verve, 2008) and My One and Only Thrill (Verve, ...
read more
Melody Gardot to Release "My One and Only Thrill" on April 28
Source:
Muse Media
With her debut album Worrisome Heart, Melody Gardot displayed her instinctive gift for transforming the traditions of jazz and blues with her personal kiss of life.
But even her most ardent admirers will be amazed at the giant creative leap forward she has taken with the follow-up, My One And Only Thrill.
Mixing Latin rhythms, finger-snapping blues and deep, smoldering torch songs, it’s an album that seems to have been shaped from several lifetimes of love, loss and longing. Though ...
read more
Melody Gardot Live in NYC | Melody Gardot | News
Source:
All About Jazz
If you are in the NYC area this Thursday February 5 at 7:00 PM, come see Melody Gardot live at the Apple store in Soho! Be the first to hear Melody perform songs from her forthcoming release, My One And Only Thrill. Watch Melody perform Worrisome Heart & Quiet Fire from her debut Worrisome Heart live in Paris. For more information about Melody Gardot please visit melodygardot.com
read more
Melody Gardot a Voice That Smolders but Still Plays It Cool
Source:
Michael Ricci
Through much of her hourlong show at the Blender Theater at Gramercy on Thursday night, Melody Gardot weighed vulnerability against seductiveness, without really taking sides.
“Quiet Fire," one of her slinkier tunes, summed up the situation well. “I'm burning up," Ms. Gardot cooed, before issuing a coy invitation, a pledge of surrender and, in the chorus, this petition: “All I want is somebody to love me like I do." The whisper of vanity in that refrain was only slightly less ...
read more
Worrisome Heart | Melody Gardot | Album
Source:
All About Jazz
An impressive introduction to this stunning new talent, Worrisome Heart was produced by Gardot with Glenn Barratt and originally released independently in 2006.
Melody heads into the studio in January 2008 to record her official debut for Verve Records, Produced by Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock).
Gardot's engaging songs and sultry controlled vocals are provocative and familiar. Melody is cool, sophisticated, inspirational, stylish, articulate and sexy.
Tracks 1. Worrisome Heart 2. All That I Need ...
read more
Brenda Hopkins Miranda
piano
Denise Mangiardi
vocals
Carrie Marshall
vocals
Lizzie Thomas
vocals
Corinne
vocals
Karla Bauer
vocals
David and Stephanie Brehm
guitar and vocals
Kate Thomas
vocals
Janet Evra
vocals
Jennifer Derrick Adams
vocals
Ksenia Parkhatskaya
vocals
Heidi Savoie
piano
Yola Nash
vocals
Jackie Lopez
vocals
Juliet Varnedoe
piano and vocals
Courtney Freed
vocals
E.G. Phillips
author
Bongard
vocals
Eva Fox
vocals
Kati Sol
vocals
Stella Basss
vocalsPhotos
Music
Videos
Similar
Cassandra Wilson
vocals
Nina Simone
piano and vocals
Sophie Milman
vocals
Sara Gazarek
vocals
Diana Krall
piano and vocals
Madeleine Peyroux
vocals
Dee Dee Bridgewater
vocals
Inger Marie Gundersen
vocals
Norah Jones
piano
Karrin Allyson
vocals
Stacey Kent
vocals
Lizz Wright
vocals
Nnenna Freelon
vocals
Viktoria Tolstoy
vocals
Patricia Barber
piano
