Melody Gardot in concert she's in Seattle 6/19

See this article, currently online at Elle.com (but probably not for long). It dwells much more on the accident and its consequences, and her rather mysterious history prior to it, than the music. That said, it is quite well-written and seems to be more carefully researched than usual.

(Note: "Melody Gardot" turns out to be an adopted name.)

Interesting article, and one does get the sense, seeing her live, of young woman, of immense talent, playing a role: the stilt-high heels, allusions to a trail of men, the air of European sophistication. If you look at some of her earliest clips, you see someone whose demeanor was like Eva Cassidy's. The comparison to Dylan in that regard seems perfectly apt. And the role works, too, especially since there's just a smidgen of irony about the whole thing.

Having read Andrew Goldman's article, I can't help but wonder about another alleged fact, that she was born on February 2, which is also Eva Cassidy's birthday. (See Wikipedia.) I don't mean to be cynical by saying that. One gets the sense she is very much in the throes of constructing an identity, because of her age (isn't that what one's teens and 20s are about anyway?), the after-effects of her accident, and the process of unfolding her talent and discovering where it might take her.

I've read quite a lot about the development of young musicians recently, especially jazz musicians, and finding the balance between audacity and humility—with a capacity to listen deeply to other musicians—is central to the process. Some pretense and role-playing is also probably unavoidable for most, especially if one is trying to escape certain constraints and inhibitions of one's background.

NOBODY can doubt her courage.

(PS: In this connection, see this AAJ interview with saxophonist Myron Walden.)

Nicely put, Btv. I guess I only get cyncal about it when it's done badly, and in her case, it certainly isn't.

As an example of what bothers and intrigues me at the same time, see this video taken by an audience member during the June 29 performance in Athens (start of the summer tour of Europe).

Melody starts with a brief quote from 'Don't Explain' (Billie Holiday / Arthur Herzog), and then launches into a radical re-interpretation of her own 'Love Me Like a River Does' (from 'Worrisome Heart'). The original is so perfect that I can hardly stand the thought of it being tampered with, so my initial response was dismay. That feeling didn't completely dissipate, but I couldn't help but be drawn in by what the band does with it. (By now I've played the video several times.) The young German jazz cellist Stephan Braun has been part of many of her European dates this year, and his playing is at the core of this arrangement. Melody's own contribution on piano is also interesting.

I think many fans—especially in the U.S.—of the two released albums may be nonplussed by the direction she is taking now, but that is inevitable. She is just too talented a musician, her artistic interests are too broad, and her range of experience is expanding too quickly, to be constrained by those early expectations and assumptions. European audiences will probably find it easier to keep up with her evolution.