1. Don't Misunderstand
2. Don't Talk
3. It Gonna Come
4. Bad News
5. She Don't Know
6. ""Palmas da Rua""
7. Same To You
8. No Man's Prize
9. March For Mingus
10. Preacherman
11. Morning Sun
12. If Ever I Recall Your Face
13. Once I Was Loved
14. After the Rain
15. Burying My Troubles

On 2012's The Absence, Melody Gardot made her first shift away from the jazz-tinged ballads that drew such heavy comparisons to Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux. Lushly orchestrated, it was chock-full of songs inspired by Brazilian, Latin, and French forms. On Currency of Man, Gardot takes on a rootsier sound, embracing West Coast soul, funk, gospel, and pop from the early '70s as the backdrop for these songs. It is not only different musically, but lyrically. This is a less "personal" record; its songs were deeply influenced by the people she encountered in L.A., many of them street denizens. She tells their stories and reflects on themes of social justice. It's wide angle. Produced by Larry Klein, the cast includes members of her band, crack session players -- guitarist Dean Parks, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, Larry Goldings, the Waters Sisters, et al. -- and strings and horns. The title track is a funky blues with a rumbling bassline, dramatic strings (à la Motown) and fat horns. Gardot uses the lens of Sam Cooke to testify to the inevitability of change: "We all hopin’ for the day that the powers see abdication and run/Said it gonna come…." First single "Preacherman" is similar, employing a wrangling, smoldering blues that indicts racism in the 20st century by referring to the violent death of Emmett Till, a catalyst in the then-emergent Civil Rights movement. A driving B-3, saxophone, and menacing lead guitar ratchet up the tension to explosive. A gospel chorus mournfully affirms Gardot's vocal as a harmonica moans in the background. "Morning Sun" and closer "Once I Was Loved" are tender ballads that emerge from simple, hymn-like themes and quietly resonant with conviction. "Same to You" evokes the spirit of Dusty Springfield atop the punchy horns from her Memphis period, albeit with a West Coast sheen. The nylon-string guitar in "Don't Misunderstand" recalls Bill Withers' earthy funkiness. The song's a groover, but it's also a warning to a possessive lover. "Don't Talk" uses spooky polyrhythms (à la Tom Waits) as brooding, spacy slide guitars, B-3, and backing singers slice through forbidding blues under Gardot's voice. "If Ever I Recall Your Face" is jazzier, a 21st century take on the film noir ballad with glorious strings arranged by Clément Ducol that rise above a ghostly piano. "Bad News" simultaneously looks back at L.A.'s Central Avenue and burlesque scenes. It's a jazz-blues with a sauntering horn section, snaky electric guitar, and squawking saxophone solo. Vocally, Gardot is stronger than ever here, her instrument is bigger and fuller yet it retains that spectral smokiness that is her trademark. Currency of Man is a further step away from the lithe, winsome pop-jazz that garnered her notice initially, and it's a welcome one. [The Artist's Cut contains five extra songs (17 more minutes of music) sequenced in a completely different running order, making for a deeper, wider listening experience.] ---Thom Jurek, Rovi

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01. Our Love Is Easy 06:22
02. Baby I'm A Fool 04:24
03. The Rain 11:22
04. Deep Within The Corners Of My Mind 06:56
05. So Long 05:35
06. My One And Only Thrill 07:33
07. Lisboa 07:06
08. Over The Rainbow 05:06
09. (Monologue) Special Spot 02:09
10. Baby I'm A Fool 04:03
11. Les etoiles 03:23
12. Goodbye 04:05
13. (Monologue) Tchao Baby 00:22
14. March For Mingus 11:13
15. Bad News 06:29
16. Who Will Comfort Me 07:19
17. Morning Sun 12:22

An album of live recordings which our singer and her band did in various cities in Europe, during the period 2012-2016. Ms Gardot explains that she originally thought she would choose the best tracks she could find, but then she decided it should rather be ‘a postcard from our tours of Europe’ giving ‘the feeling, the nostalgia, the memory’ of performances, and be a gift to herself as well as to the listener.

The songs appear to be originals, except for Over the Rainbow, mostly love songs, and Ms Gardot’s style leans towards cabaret, with something subtly French about the singing, which is often quiet, intimate, breathless, almost muttered. Listeners need to hear the songs a few times to fully appreciate the artistry. I estimate the instruments involved to be guitar, keys, saxes, (some tracks) strings, clarinet, flute, drums, and some delightful cello and very skilled double bass, which often introduces each song.

The cities visited include Paris, Bergen, Lisbon, London, Zurich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Utrecht. The Rain (Bergen) is highly descriptive, with long, lowering guitar chords, crashing piano chords, a strong jazz tune from saxes, and a bass solo, signifying ‘goodbye’ to a lover. Our Love Is Easy is a flowing tune, sung with breathless intimacy. Deep Within the Corners of My Mind is a song of longing with string accompaniment. From Lisbon, we hear a Latin number with percussion, clarinet and flute, and singing in Portuguese (I think). Other titles include Baby I’m A Fool; So Long; My One and Only Thrill; Les Etoiles; Goodbye. The album is rounded off with a long track, March for Mingus, which includes most of the instruments giving us a strong jazz tune, saxes in harmony, eastern type vocals, then a final band mash up with a gospel song.

I found this to be a quite listenable CD but maybe something of an acquired taste, and I’m not sure whether I would eventually acquire that taste or not. It is available as a double CD or a triple vinyl LP. ---Ann Alex, lance-bebopspokenhere.blogspot.com

Jak mówi sama artystka: „Ten album ma w sobie całe moje serce i miłość wszystkich ludzi, którzy wspierali nas przez te wszystkie lata. To w taki sam sposób podarunek dla mnie – zawiera wszak tyle wspomnień, jak dar ode mnie dla Was – słuchaczy. Ten album to po prostu jedno wielkie słowo „dziękuję”, które pragnę wykrzyczeć z siebie w Waszym kierunku. Będę Wam wdzięczna do końca swoich dni.

Melody Gardot to nieprzeciętny głos i wyjątkowa, silna osobowość, będąca zarazem wielce uduchowioną artystką. Melody jest połączeniem naturalnego talentu z wyjątkową intuicją muzyczną i sceniczną, która pozwala wprowadzić widownię w niezapomniany klimat. ---jazzforum.com.pl

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1. Baby I'm A Fool 
2. If the Stars Were Mine 
3. Who Will Comfort Me 
4. Your Heart Is As Black as Night 
5. Lover Undercover 
6. Our Love Is Easy 
7. Les Etoiles 
8. The Rain 
9. My One and Only Thrill 
10. Deep Within the Corners Of My Mind 
11. Over The Rainbow 
12. If The Stars Were Mine (Orchestral Version)

Musicians:
Melody Gardot: vocals, guitar, piano
Gary Foster: alto saxophone (7)
Bryan Rogers: tenor saxophone (3-8, 11)
Patrick Hughes: trumpet (3-7, 11)
Andy Martin: trombone (6)
Ken Pendergast: bass (1, 3, 4, 6-8, 11)
Larry Klein: bass (5, 9)
Charlie Patierno: drums (1, 3, 7, 11)
Vinnie Colaiuta: drums (4-6, 9)
Pualinho Da Costa: percussion (2, 3, 11)
Behn Gillece: vibraphones (6, 11)
Larry Goldings: Hammond organ (3, 4)
Darius Campo: violin (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Roberto Cani: violin (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Joel Derouin: violin (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Miran Kojian: violin (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Natalie Leggett: violin (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Liane Mautner: violin (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Robin Olson: violin (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Katia Popov: violin (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Audrey Solomon: violin (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Kevin Connolly: violin (1, 5, 9, 10)
Lina Voloshina: violin (6, 11)
Alma Fernandy: viola (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Samuel Fornicola: viola (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
David Walter: viola (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Roland Kato: viola (1, 5, 9, 10)
Jody Rubin: viola (6,11)
Larry Corbett: cello (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Cecilia Tsan: cello (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Ira Glansheck: viola (5, 9, 10)
Christina Soule: viola (1, 6, 11)
Kiko Abondolo: double-bass (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Drew Dembowski: double-bass (1, 5, 6, 9-11)
Marcia Dickstein: harp (5, 9, 10)
Amy Schulma: harp (1, 6, 11)
Patrick Hughes: backing vocals (3)
Larry Klein: backing vocals (3)
Charlie Patierno: backing vocals (3)
Ken Pendergast: backing vocals (3)
Bryan Rogers: backing vocals (3).

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. ---Joh Fordham, theguardian.com

Na swojej debiutanckiej płycie "Worrisome Heart", Melody Gardot pokazała, że potrafi w niesamowity sposób połączyć swoją własną pasję z wielką tradycją jazzu i bluesa. Jednak wszyscy którzy poddali się urokowi tego albumu, będą mocno zaskoczeni postępem jaki dokonał się w muzyce Melody od tamtego czasu i jak bardzo dorosły i przemyślany jest jego następca, "My One And Only Thrill". Nowa płyta to idealne połączenie rytmów latynoskich, korzennego bluesa i duchowości i swobody muzyki folk. Dojrzałość tej muzyki jest tym bardziej zaskakująca, że Melody dopiero niedawno skończyła dwadzieścia lat! W tym wieku nie każdy ma tyle do powiedzenia o życiu, uczuciach i emocjach co ona. I nie każdy umie to ubrać w tak wspaniałe dźwięki. Co zabawne, materiał na ten album powstawał niemal cały czas "na walizkach". Po sukcesie "Worrisome Heart" Melody i jej zespół większość czasu spędzali w hotelach i na lotniskach niż w sali prób.

To niezbyt komfortowe warunki, a jednak udało się napisać piosenki, które zachwycają od pierwszego zetknięcia. "Byliśmy w trasie bez przerwy przez dziewięć miesięcy, jak udało mi się wyrwać tydzień wolnego to byłam szczęśliwa. I nawet wtedy nie miałam czasu dla siebie, bo pisałam materiał na nowy album. To było męczące, ale jednocześnie dawało mi trochę perspektywy, robiłam coś a potem wracałam do tego po jakimś czasie i dzięki temu nie podejmowałam pochopnych decyzji". Natłok obowiązków, nie przeszkodził Melody w dokłądnym zaplanowaniu sesji nagraniowej do "My One And Only Thrill". "Do studia weszliśmy z gotowym materiałem. To ważne, bo lepiej jest kiedy masz wyobrażenie tego jak ma brzmieć płyta, którą właśnie nagrywasz. Musisz wiedzieć czego oczekujesz od muzyków, kiedy mają pojawić się smyczki, a kiedy nie muszą. To fascynujący proces, poszukiwanie miejsca na orkiestrę, to jak rozbieranie piosenki do naga".

Duża pomocą w tym "rozbieraniu" była współpraca z takimi artystami jak Vince Mendoza, który jest "tajną bronią" Melody. Ten znakomity aranżer znany jest z pracy z takimi muzykami jak Al Di Meola, Joni Mitchell, Kyle Eastwood, Joe Zawinul, czy Robbie Williams (album "Swing When You're Winning" to właśnie jego dzieło). Dla Melody zaaranżował partie orkiestry i roztańczonych kawałkach latin i w rozmarzonych balladach. To dzięki niemu słychać na tej płycie echa Peggy Lee i Franka Sinatry. Prawdziwą magię Mendoza pokazał w tytułowym utworze "My One And Only Thrill", to co robi orkiestra w tej kompozycji to absolutne mistrzostwo świata, od delikatnego wstępu poprzez nagły zwrot aż do finału, który przywodzi na myśl muzykę pisaną przez Bernarda Herrmanna do filmów Hitchcocka.

Jeszcze rok temu, nikt nie mówił o niczym innym poza wypadkiem samochodowym z którego Melody cudownie uszła z życiem i o terapeutycznej roli muzyki w jej powrocie do zdrowia. Dziś ten temat schodzi na daleki plan, liczy się tylko muzyka! Panie i Panowie, oto narodziła się nowa gwiazda! Pozwólcie sobie przedstawić - Melody Gardot! --- merlin.pl

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01 – Mira
02 – Amalia
03 – So Long
04 – So We Meet Again My Heartache
05 – Lisboa
06 – Impossible Love
07 – If I Tell You I Love You
08 – Goodbye
09 – Se Voce Me Ama
10 – MY Heart Won’t Have It Any Other Way
11 – Iemanja

12 – La vie en rose
13 – Mira (Hamilton & Yamandu Acoustic Version)
14 – Iemanja (Hamilton & Yamundu Acoustic Version)
15 – The Absence – Track By Track Commentary

Personnel: 
Melody Gardot (vocals, piano); Heitor Pereira (vocals, guitar, piano, percussion); 
Jo Ann Turovsky (harp); Alyssa Park, Serena McKinney, Katia Popov, Helen Nightengale,
 Julia Ann Gigante, Tamara Hatwan, Philip Levy, Lisa Sutton, Bruce Dukov, Sarah Thornblade,
 Roger Wilkie, Tereza Stanislav (violin); 
Marlow Fisher, Matthew Funes, Brian Dembrow, Keith Greene, Roland Kato, Dave Walther,
 Darrin McCann, Andrew Duckles (viola); 
Paula Hochhalter, Christina Soule, Dennis Karmazyn, Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick, Armen Ksajikan,
 Martin Tillman, Andrew Shulman, Cecilia Tsan, Steve Erdody (cello); 
Dan Higgins (flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet); Coco Trivisonno (bandoneon); 
Larry Goldings (melodica, piano); Ron Kerber (clarinet); Jessica Pearlman (oboe); 
Harry Kim, Ramon Flores (trumpet); Andrew Lippman (trombone); Jim Keltner, Peter Erskine (drums); 
Paco Arroyo, Yolanda Arroyo, Paulinho Da Costa (percussion); Alfie Silas-Durio, Ali Witherspoon,
 Louis Price, Phil Roy, Tata Vega, Bill Cantos, Bill Maxwell (background vocals).

If Melody Gardot's 2009 sophomore effort, My One and Only Thrill, sustained the sultry, atmospheric vibe of her critically acclaimed 2006 debut, her 2012 follow-up, The Absence, is a bit of a creative departure for the vocalist. Absence album Apparently inspired by her world travels, and specifically by a trip that brought her to the desert around the city of Marrakech, the album moves her away from smoky, small-group jazz and into a bright, if still bedroom-eyed, rhythmically exotic sound. Produced by guitarist/composer Heitor Pereira, the album is a lush, somewhat orchestral album that finds Gardot delving into various Brazilian, Spanish, and African-influenced sounds -- including bits of samba, tango, bossa nova, and calypso -- that evince her global journey. However, rather than simply making a standards album, Gardot continues her all-original approach, offering up new literate and passionately delivered compositions that bring to mind the work of such similarly inclined artists as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Paul Simon, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and others. Although there are a few name musicians who help add spice to Gardot's musical caravan here, including percussionist Paulinho Da Costa, drummer Peter Erskine, and bassist John Leftwich, primarily it is still Gardot's burnished and yearning vocal style that takes the helm on these tracks. ---Matt Collar, Rovi

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1. Worrisome Heart 
2. All That I Need Is Love 
3. Gone 
4. Sweet Memory 
5. Some Lessons 
6. Quiet Fire 
7. One Day 
8. Love Me Like A River Does 
9. Goodnite 
10. Twilight

Musicians:
Melody Gardot 	- Guitar, Piano, Vocals, Vox Organ
Mike Brenner - Lap Steel Guitar
Joel Bryant - Fender Rhodes, Organ (Hammond), Wurlitzer
Matt Cappy - Trumpet
Patrick Hughes - Trumpet
Jef Lee Johnson - Guitar
Kurt Johnston - Dobro
Ron Kerber - Clarinet, Sax (Tenor)
Paul Klinefelter - Bass
Barney McKenna  - Guitar
Diane Monroe - Violin
David Mowry - Dobro
Charlie Patierno - Drums, Percussion
Ken Pendergast - Bass
Stan Slotter - Trumpet

This debut will inevitably draw comparisons to Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux – but don't fall into the trap of believing it. Because behind the sweeping classic melodies and dreamy piano lie the striking lyrics and edgy tone of Melody Garnot – and beyond them, an unbelievable story of courage against the odds. Disabled after a 4X4 knocked her off her bike at 19, Melody only found her voice while receiving music therapy as she recovered. The recordings she made in a wheelchair at her hospital bedside were eventually released in 2005 as Some Lessons – The Bedroom Sessions.

It was an undoubtedly long, painful slog from there to her first full length release Worrisome Heart. She wrote and co-produced the entire album which had an independent US release in 2006. Picked up by the same DJ who discovered Norah Jones, Garnot started gaining acclaim and signed to Universal, with whom the album now gets a deserved full worldwide release.

It's true that tracks like Sweet Memory and Goodnite have similarities to Jones' standards but unsurprisingly this survivor also has an edge. Only in her early twenties, Gardot is still not fully recovered. She walks with a cane and is hypersensitive to light, noise and sound – not ideal for a professional singer.

Her resulting inner steel cuts through best in top tracks Worrisome Heart and Love Me Like A River Does, lifting them above your standard dreamy jazz classics. On the album's the title track, she calls herself a ''worrisome, troubling, baggage free, modern day dame, ain't nobody the same''. She's right there. Meanwhile Love Me Like A River Does stands out for its simple yet devastating lines such as: ''Baby don't rush, you're no waterfall – love me that is all''.

The disc almost sold out on Amazon the day before release and is getting great reviews all over the world. Garnot is lighthearted in the face of adversity, signing off the album with: ''That was fun!'' Fun? It's so much more than that. And you owe it to your ears to discover this gem for yourself. ---Sophie Bruce, BBC Review

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01 – Get Out Of Town
02 – Someday My Prince Will Come
03 – Bye Bye Blackbird           play
04 – Summertime

The Gardot/Preston EP is an exquisite exercise in arresting, evocative minimalism. They open with a stealthy “Get Out of Town” that, like much of Gardot’s work, sounds like it has been lifted from a 1940s film noir soundtrack. Next is a sweetly pensive “Someday My Prince Will Come” that is shaped of equal parts wishfulness and pent-up desire. Unlike so many performers who paint “Bye Bye Blackbird” too darkly, Gardot and Preston appreciate that it is a tender evocation of home’s familiar comforts and protective warmth. Their interpretation, fragile as a butterfly’s wing yet deeply satisfied, is singularly stunning. They finish with an equally masterful “Summertime” that unfolds like a delicate morning glory slowly awakening to a glorious sunrise. ---jazztimes.com

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