Saturday, March 13, 2010

A Beautiful Melody

The story of Melody Gardot is truly an example of the human spirit triumphing over adversity. When she was 19, she attended a fashion school in Philadelphia. While riding her bike to school, she was struck by a car and left for dead. While recovering in the hospital over a several month period, she wrote and recorded a number of songs, which would eventually become the EP Some Lessons. It was through her music that she persevered and recovered. Today, Melody is hypersensitive to light and noise and she walks with a cane. She also needs a special electronic unit to help suppress her pain. In spite of all this, she continues to record and perform live.

Her voice and phrasing are both elegant and subtle. And it has a touch of innocence that reminds me of Doris Day. Her songwriting is mature and insightful. I’m surprised she isn’t better known. If she keeps making recordings as fine as her first three, I think that’s about to change.



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