It has been a long time since I wrote a post on here, so I thought I had better redress the situation. A lot has happened this year, and although some of it has been a litany of misery, there have been some bright spots.

If you can bother trawling through previous posts, you will remember that I was badly affected by the floods that ravaged parts of Northern NSW in April this year. After a sojourn at a friend’s house for five months, my cat and I returned to my little flat here in the Boambee Valley. It is nearly unreconisable from the vision of dated axminster and Fantastic furniture items that it once was. Now it is repainted, recarpeted, retiled and yes – renewed. Its had a facelift, and now it is dressed up to charm with beautiful furniture courtesy of my insurance company and the Freedom Furniture catalogue. My telly is up to date, the huge sound system I wrote about earlier is installed and occasionally I give the neighbours a blast of my ecelectic taste in music.
It was music that sparked this post.

Ten years ago I was emerging from my second skirmish with adolescence. I had returned to NZ after my marriage ended and had enjoyed a seven year stint of catching up on all of the sex, drugs and rock and roll that I had not had the chance to explore during my adolescence.  (being ‘born again’ at 18 and married at 20 put the kybosh on that). I suppose it was my mid life crisis, but I did have a lot of fun being a 43 year old teenager. One of my discoveries was music. It was not the music one would expect a the 43 year old woman to enjoy, but the beginnings of a flirtation with bands like Tool and Korn. It was also around the time of the grunge era and I fell in love with the Seattle sounds of Nirvana and Soundgarden. And I liked it loud. My neighbour in the next flat in the old converted Victorian mansion was my age. She liked Barry Manilow and Neil Sedaka.  They were singers who made me want to vomit, or at perhaps slash my wrists. She was stymied by the sight of this middle aged mutton dressed as semi spring lamb woman head banging to some amplified sounds probably more fitting to a teenage boy’s bedroom. We seldoms spoke at the comunal clothesline.

That was then, this is now. Most of my musical travesties have gone to new homes via Ebay. However, I have a lingering fondness for Radiohead, Massive Attack, Basement Jaxx and more. Add in Groove Amarda, Faithless and more. Listening to them took me back to my second teenage hood.

Then, when I hit my fifties, and back in the loving bosom of my family here in Australia I found that I was enjoying classical music more. But, I had never appreciated or understood jazz. Then I had an ephiphany. At the ripe old age of 56 I found myself listening to singer Melody Gardot. It was jazz like I had never heard it. It was a revelation. Her voice is raw yet subtle, with nuances of heart felt life experience in every note.

So. Does that mean I am grown up now? Can I say goodbye to Tool, a band I saw live 12 years ago in the Christchurch town hall?
Or, is it ok to admit that I have just broadened my taste? When I finally got the monstrous sound system wired up in my tiny pad the first CD I played was ‘Blister in the sun’ by the Violent Femmes. This was closely followed by Talking Heads ‘Burnin down the house’ (not an invitation to be taken literally as having the house ‘flooded’ was enough of a negative experience to put me off being accosted by rogue elements) I played them loud with my sub woofer ( not a dog I discovered) blaring to let the neighbours know that if they can use chainsaws at 6am, then I can add my own version of sonic hell.

Point is, I guess I have finally matured. I wear flat shoes because they are comfortable and natural fabrics because they are also comfortable. I am tired of makeup that melts in the 39 degree heat and push up overwired bras that make you feel like your mamaries are ensconced in chicken wire. I am just me. A complex middle aged woman with eclectic music tastes and a flash pad filled with mod cons and Freedom furniture in a flood prone area.

So, does this mean I am grown up now? Will I start reading the Financial Review and join the local bowls club? Will I let my hair go gray and will I start saying “now when I was young… “to any poor soul who will listen? No, I don’t think I am really quite grown up and probably never will be, thank God. I like being the quirky, complicated self absorbed person I am, so if my changing musical tastes are any indication, it just means that I am merely broadening my horizons.

And, the muscial ephiphany will NEVER include country and western music. It makes my flesh crawl with revulsion.

The Grammy nominations are out and they are a bit poppier than usual. A little less Paul McCartney, a little more GaGa. We don’t really care where the awards go, but the show is always fun. The highlights of the event are as goes:

10 nominations: Beyonce.

8 nominations: Taylor Swift.

6 nominations: Maxwell.

5 nominations: Lady GaGa, Black Eyed Peas.

3 nominations: India Arie.

2 nominations: Melody Gardot, MGMT, Dido, Pink, Jazmine Sullivan, Keri Hilson.

1 nomination: Royksopp, Leslie Mendelson, Imogen Heap, Kathy Griffin, Tracy Chapman, Prince, Britney Spears, Madonna, Melanie Fiona, Adele, The Ting Tings, Pet Shop Boys, Katy Perry.

Melody Gardot – My One and Only Thrill

Words can’t really describe how this album makes me feel. Melody Gardot is modern jazz at it’s finest. She’s got such a timeless voice but brings a new vibe to the table. This album has such a MOOD to it. In the video below, she calls it a “midnight snack” album…where you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t sleep, and these songs just wrap themselves around you. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been listening to it since April, but today when I played the first few tracks for a friend, I got goosebumps all over. Seven months later and My One and Only Thrill still amazes me. It’s sure to be very high on my ‘Best Of 2009′ list.

Melody Gardot
 MySpace page

I struggled to do this I have to confess. It was a real killer to get it down to size.  So much to leave out.  My long list was 71 songs.  Anyway, here it is (if you can read it)…

But I persevered and ended up with this.  My absolute favourite songs of the noughties.  Again, I will send you a copy if you want it.

What surprised me when I finally got it down to size was how few female singer songwriters made it to the final list.

OK.  It’s good to go.

Anyone wanting a copy of my best of 2009 CD let me know.  Here’s how it shapes up.

Eagle eyed observers will immediately spot that there is a very high presence from the hip hop and R and B world which, I have to say, has somewhat taken me by surprise.  But, hey, they’re all there on merit.  In fact, by my standards it’s almost mainstream.

The two stand outs for me are Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys which blew me away when I first heard it and Melody Gardot’s sublime My One and Only Thrill which I will, in fact, be performing on December the 19th.

Enjoy.

Download the podcast

Comedienne and social commentator Sandra Bernhard once wrote, “love is the only shocking act left on the face of the earth.” In contrast to last week’s SWIK post and the sexually explicit music from Peaches and Amanda Blank, which in this day and age is really not all that shocking, Bernhard may have been onto something. Amid the eroticism, the commercialization of sex, and the horrors of the daily news (recession, war, terror, torture, starvation etc.) an act of love may, in fact, be truly shocking. This weekend, I was thinking about love. No, I haven’t met a new man. But autumn is the time that I most want to be in love. It’s my favorite season. I like the colors and the crisp, cool air that tells us winter is coming. I find the season romantic. Maybe it’s because many of my relationships began in the fall? Or it’s that When Harry Met Sally is one of my favorite romantic comedies? Whatever. As fall comes to a close and the weather gets a little colder, the season evokes the kind of love that warms you inside. Comfortable, but still sexy. My sentiments about love and the season are captured in Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald version of “Autumn in New York.” I’ve been waiting to find more songs like this and have finally found a slew of them in Melody Gardot. She captures what sounds like love, or at least a wonderful love affair, on her latest album, My One and Only Thrill. Perhaps this is the beginning of something shocking?

I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to include Melody Gardot here. Another of my music-pushers, Nowell, introduced me to her several months ago. Nowell is married to one of my best friends, Sadie, who I went to Montreal with a few weeks ago (See North of the Border post). Not only are they two of my favorite individuals, they are one of my favorite couples. They were married in Tuscany several years ago. What’s not romantic about Italy? I find it amusing, and appropriate, that I discovered this amazing songstress from them.

A quick background on Gardot. Although she’s been singing since she was a child and is a classically trained pianist, it was a severe car accident that led her to songwriting and eventually recording albums. At 19 Gardot was hit by a SUV while riding her bike in Philadelphia. She ended up in the hospital for more than a year. She couldn’t sit at a piano so she learned to play guitar. Music therapy helped her overcome the injuries and to communicate. Gardot continues to suffer short-term memory loss. She uses a cane for stability and wears sunglasses due to extreme light sensitivity. Her recovery and the resulting music are incredible and, for me, only further attest to the power of music.

My One and Only Thrill is Gardot’s second album. Her first, Worrisome Heart, was released in 2008. Gardot’s voice is deep and sultry. She’s been compared to Julie London, Peggy Lee, and even Judy Garland, but I find her husky vocals more akin to Astrud or Bebel Gilberto (see post) or even Chryssie Hynde of the Pretenders (if she sang jazz). Gardot’s songs are warm and slightly haunting. They took me down memory lane and led me to sift through my love affairs. Even though none of them lasted, most were wonderful at the time. Some of these men broke my heart, although I’m not blameless. I may have left some battle scars along the way. No matter. The past is past and somehow with time we all mange to recover.

Gardot’s songs aren’t sad. They may be tinged with pain, but they also capture all the good feelings about a love affair. I realized that I have a fondness for most of my past relationships and, in the end, at least I learned something. Gardot’s music has me smiling about the past and reminds me, in what may be a shocking revelation, that there is still love to find.

Gardot’s song “Your Heart is as Black as Night” brings me back to one of my first love affairs and I can recognize how far I’ve come. At the time it felt like love, but the reality was a dramatic love affair with a very difficult man. In the end, I realized he wasn’t going to change and I finally moved on. The sound here is eerie, yet sexy. Exactly the sentiments that drew me in to that relationship.

The title track from the album, “My One and only Thrill” captures a different feeling. When you’re with someone and the conversation is so amazing that everything around you falls away. A good kiss can do this, but a good conversation seems to be more difficult to find. This song brought me back to a different love affair, someone I dated on and off for about 15 years. Although we didn’t spend much time in the same country, every moment that we were together he made me feel like the most beautiful and amazing woman on earth. Gardot’s music slips right over you in the way that great conversation does and everything else falls away. It was from this man that I learned what it felt like to be someone’s one and only thrill, even if only for a few weeks at time.

Gardot seems to have a song for every kind of love affair. We’ve all had the one that was purely physical, captured here in “Lover Undercover.” While she may be referring to something a bit more illicit, this song reminds of an affair that was spent merely wrapped in someone’s arms. Maybe there wasn’t enough conversation to be become a relationship of any sort? Although we talked about dating, and wondered why we didn’t take the step and actually date, neither of us made the effort and we never asked for anything more.

One of my favorites on the album “Baby I’m A Fool” reminds me of my most recent love affair. The guy I thought for a brief moment was “the” guy. It included wonderful conversation, laughter, as well as all the usual good stuff. Although it didn’t work, it reminded me that love is out there, waiting. At the time that was all I needed.

There are many more men, many more affairs, and many more songs on Gardot’s album that articulate them. She captures those exciting moments when you first fall in love (“If The Stars Were Mine”). Her music is soothing and comfortable like familiarity that comes with loving someone for a long time (“Our Love Is Easy”). I wouldn’t call the album romantic, but I might call it love. The best part of love, the love affair. Occasionally tinged with pain, but mainly soothing and sultry.

So is love the only shocking act left on the face of the earth? Very little shocks me these days, so I would say yes. I can’t help but admire, and maybe even be a little awed, by those who have found love and managed to keep it going for years, through marriage, children, illness, career changes, and all the regular crap that makes life challenging.

For some of us, the shocking thing may be that despite the fact that we haven’t found love, we still look for it, believe in it, wait patiently for it, and eagerly embrace the next love affair. To the doubters and disbelievers, who aren’t shocked by the act of love, I’ll quote Gardot, “I would never tell, if you became a fool, and fell in love.”

Judy Carmichael, who wowed her Glasgow audience on Sunday night.

JUDY CARMICHAEL, CITY HALLS RECITAL ROOM, GLASGOW, 29.11.09

A touch of New York sparkle came to the City Halls Recital Room on Sunday night when the vivacious pianist Judy Carmichael made her Scottish debut as part of Jazz International’s busy winter programme. With her witty and engaging repartee, Carmichael had won her audience over before she even began playing, and it was clear from her fast-swinging, playful opener, Lulu’s Back in Town, that her sense of humour translated fluently into her music. Like the late, great Fats Waller – who, to judge by the way she occasionally seemed to tickle the ivories, producing little flurries of notes, is a hero – she has the lightest, most delicate of touches and a warm, rich tone.

Carmichael, who was nicknamed Stride by no less a jazz piano legend than Count Basie, cut quite a dash as she tapped her leopard-print stilettoes to keep time and bobbed her blonde curls along with the music. She has made a name for herself as a purveyor of this early style of jazz piano, but such numbers as an evocative, bluesy Lazy River (and, no, she’s not related to its composer, Hoagy) and her own Boisedale Blues, which had a rollicking boogie-woogie section in the middle, demonstrated that she’s more than a one-trick pony. She even sang on a few tunes; apparently a recent addition to her CV.

That said, it was her Earl Hines and Fats-flavoured output which most delighted the enthusiastic crowd, and it was a treat to hear such rarely exhumed gems as Love Is Just Around the Corner, Christopher Columbus and Gladyse being played with such affection and panache.

MADELEINE PEYROUX, QUEEN’S HALL, EDINBURGH, 25.11.09

Madeleine Peyroux has some following in Edinburgh. The Queen’s Hall was packed for the singer’s first concert in the capital in four years, and her welcome couldn’t have been warmer. In fact, the Queen’s Hall, with its relatively intimate, cabaret-style, atmosphere, proved to be the perfect venue for a 90-minute programme described by the 36-year-old American as “booze, blues and ballads”.

Peyroux has come a long way since her last appearance in Edinburgh. Back then, she barely spoke to the audience and looked uncomfortable when all eyes were on her. On Wednesday, she was ebullient, chatty, relaxed and very witty indeed. A handful of characteristically sad songs into the concert, she said: “I’ve made a pact with myself – that I’ll do two happy songs in my show…. Here is my happy break-up song – I’m Alright”.

That number, a sort of upbeat, uptempo torch song, was one of many which benefitted from the top-notch quartet that Peyroux had with her. Given her propensity for playing about with songs to the extent that they are sometimes unrecognisable, the presence of a band (including Hammond organist-pianist Gary “Liberace” Versace) playing the arrangements from her records acted as a sort of anchor and kept the songs from straying too far from the familiar recorded versions – though Peyroux always takes it to the limit.

There’s still something slightly unsettling about listening to Peyroux live: while her albums (notably the current one, Bare Bones, which was not much featured) are sublime; her choices – of notes, of how far behind in the lyrics to let herself fall, etc – are far from predictable, and there’s still, in the way she twists final notes and increases their volume, hints of the dying Billie Holiday about her voice.

MELODY GARDOT, QUEEN’S HALL, EDINBURGH, 18.11.09

She may have kept a busy Queen’s Hall waiting before she appeared onstage on Wednesday night, but, boy, did singer-songwriter Melody Gardot make up for lost time. Showing absolutely no sign of the physical frailty that regularly bothers her, the glamorous 24-year-old – with the Mae West sense of humour, and figure to match – sang continuously for 90 minutes and easily filled the hall when she performed her bluesier numbers.

Mind you, it didn’t start out too promisingly. Gardot’s opening song, The Rain (probably the weakest song on her superb current album, My One and Only Thrill), took a while to get going because she spent the first few moments onstage on her hands and knees doing something New Age-y with sand (only the front row and balcony seats could have seen what was going on), and then the song was preceded by a lot of seemingly random plucking of piano and bass strings, and clashing of cymbals while Gardot gyrated against the keyboard.

Once all that was out of the way, though, the concert was a revelation: here was a singer who sounded better live than on her sublime CD; her gorgeous, pitch-perfect, effortlessly agile vocals a joy whether on such exquisite ballads as Baby I’m a Fool, If The Stars Were Mine and Deep Within the Corners of My Mind or on raunchy blues-style numbers.

Gardot really came into her own once she dispensed with the theatrics and the slight aloofness of the first ten minutes and began chatting with the increasingly adoring audience.

I’ve been listening to Melody Gardot non-stop for about three weeks now, and I’m still not bored with her, which if you know me, is saying something. Here’s iTunes her biography on itunes:

The story of vocalist Melody Gardot is as remarkable as any who perseveres against abject adversity. Born in New Jersey in 1985, she took up piano and played as a youngster on the nightclub scene of Philadelphia, influenced by jazz, folk, rock and pop musics. At age 19 she was a fashion student at the Community College of Philadelphia. But, on a fateful day, while riding her bicycle, the driver of a Jeep made an illegal turn, hurdling into Gardot and leaving her in the street for dead. Hospitalized for months with multiple head injuries and pelvic fractures, her love for music was the best therapy she could receive. While in her hospital bed, she wrote and recorded songs that would become the EP Some Lessons. Upon her eventual release from intensive care, Gardot found the strength and determination to further her career as an artist. Blessed with a beautiful voice and grand insight as a songwriter, her cognitive powers slowly but surely became pronounced, leading to the independent recording and release of her debut CD, Worrisome Heart, which was reissued in 2007 by Verve records. Her music could be described as a cross between Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Eva Cassidy, and Shania Twain, but goes deeper than mere pop convention. Gardot is hypersensitive to light and noise, thus she wears dark glasses, and uses a cane to walk. On-stage she requires a special seating unit, and wears a Transcutaneous Electro-Nerve Stimulator, a TENS device, to assist in alleviating her neuralgic muscle pain. As amazing as her story is, what is more evident is that she possesses a blue style and persona that reflects not only her afflictions, but conversely the hope and joy of making personalized music that marks her as an individual and original. Though touring is difficult, she has been performing in major cities on the East Coast to support her recordings. In 2009, working with producer Larry Klein and arranger Vince Mendoza — both known for their work with Joni Mitchell — Gardot followed up her Verve debut with My One and Only Thrill. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

Nach langer Zeit hier mal wieder Musik.

(Nach den letzten Tagen ruhigen Ausmistens, nach Außen hin äußerlich an der Wohnung, aber gleichzeitig auch nach Innen, das geht bei mir Hand in Hand, jetzt einfach nur mit Musik drauf. Ich würd ja gern einfach weiter gehen und es als “Gegessen” annehmen, aber da ist noch was.)

Sophie Hunger – Round and Round

Melody Gardot – Some Lessons

Melody Gardot. Some Lessons.

Fotos de/ Pictures from: Javier Mantrana del Valle

Volevo postare due link per segnalare due autrici fantastiche, scoperte grazie ad un cliente di Parigi che tutti gli anni viene in vacanza a Radda. La musica di queste due ragazze è bellissima. Tutte e due sono jazz singer e tutte e due hanno una voce calda e raffinata. Verrebbe voglia di abbinare i loro pezzi a qualche vino.

Qui però si entra in una tematica, quella di “vino e musica” che è stata trattata in tutte le salse. Due spunti interessanti che vale la pena di leggere, li si trova come al solito balzellando per i blog. Di seguito i link ai post de l’Espresso e di da Da Burde.

Ritornando alle cantautrici, le ragazze sono entrambe americane ed entrambe già famose: Melody Gardot e Madelaine Peyroux

I’m going to be performing this on December the 19th at the Forth Adults Theatre Show (if I can pluck up the courage).  It’s my song of the year and actually really suits the barely passable singing voice I have (Second Tenor/Baritone).

Sorry about the recording.  It does the song little justice.

Sources : http://www.evene.fr/culture/agenda/melody-gardot

http://sites.radiofrance.fr/chaines/france-bleu/haute-normandie

Le 6 novembre 2009

Melody Gardot : Un talent qui ne laisse pas de marbre.

Les passionnés de jazz vocal ont probablement entendu la voix de la jeune chanteuse Américaine, Melody Gordot.

Melody Gordot est victime d’un grave accident à 19 ans, elle tombe dans le coma. Durant sa convalescence, elle compose des chansons (guitare sur le ventre, puisqu’elle ne peut pas s’asseoir). L’une de ses composition sera plébiscitée par les internautes. Elle sort son premier album «Worrisome Heart ». C’est fin avril que le public français la découvre et tombe sous son charme avec son second album «  My one and only thrill ».

Elle sera à Rouen en concert cette semaine. Les amateurs de Jazz normands seront sans aucun doute au rendez-vous. En effet, Le succès est tel, que le spectacle est déjà complet.

j’aurais aimé avoir la traduction des titres des albums (pour savoir si elle raconte ses sentiments par rapport à son coma ou si elle parle de quelque chose de général)

Universally approved by critics as Jamie Cullum’s strongest and most experimental album to date, “‘The Pursuit’” finds the Essex-born crossover jazz sensation in eclectic mood. Lead single, “I’m All Over It” is currently on rotation on the local airwaves.

I haven’t had the chance to listen to the acclaimed album yet but the multi-talented jazz man certainly wow-ed me with his rendition of Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music”. This is Cullum’s 2nd cover after “High and Dry” from his debut album and he acknowledges that doing covers has always been part of his DNA as a jazz musician. The accompanying video fits perfectly not just for the song but also as a Jamie Cullum video. Great visualisation of the energy and dynamics of his music and life performances! Check out the video:

The album, produced by Greg Wells (Katy Perry, OneRepublic), will be released this Monday, November 9.

.

I have never heard of Melody Gardot (blame it on our local radio stations..haha) until the nice folks at Universal Music sent an e-mail sharing some chart news on her latest album “My One And Only Thrill”. I knew right away I needed to hear more after stumbling upon Ms. Gardot’s YouTube video for “Who Will Comfort Me” (Live on David Letterman show). The impressive jazz singer, who recovered from a terrible road accident and used music as a therapeutic lifeline, displays a lot of heart and soul on the bluesy single.

Her latest single, “Baby I’m a Fool”, is simply elegant with its beautiful touch of strings throughout the track. An absolutely awesome lead off track that truly showcases the American jazz singer–songwriter’s sensual vocals.

What a nice lazy-jazzy weekend

Ingo skrev så i kommentarsfältet till förra inlägget:

Har du hört Melody Gardot? Hon har gjort kometkarriär. Bakgrunden till hennes musikkarriär ger mer musikupplevelse på gott och ont. Jag gillar spec: ”Baby I’m a Fool”.
Lite kuriosa: född 1985 i New Jersey, är en amerikansk jazzsångerska och singer/songwriter.
Gardot blev vid 19 års ålder påkörd av en bil när hon var ute och cyklade. Hon fick bland annat skador i huvudet och svåra frakturer i höftpartiet. Under den långa sjukhusvistelsen anammade hon musikterapi och kom att skriva en lång rad låtar. Gardot går med käpp, och på scen använder hon en specialkonstruerad stol.

Jag har fått en ny favorit. Tack Ingo! Och Lollo, jag har inte glömt Jenny Wilson!

Melody Gardot has got the voice, the name and the beauty of a classic jazz singer – and she is only 24 years old.

In the early 2000s Melody Gardot was involved in a car accident where she suffered serious head injuries. Among other therapies she used music for her healing process.

Listen to her marvelous song ‘Baby, I’m A Fool’.

(Here is a link to the official music video of ‘Baby, I’m A Fool’, which unfortunately is not to be embedded).

Melody Gardot’s website is at www.melodygardot.com.