TURN IT UP TUESDAYS . . . Jazz, Acoustic, Blues

For the past few weeks I've shared different artists in the jazz genre.  Jazz is so versatile and each artist I've talked about has their own style.  On this weeks Turn it Up Tuesdays, I'm going to share with you singer, songwriter and musician, Melody Gardot. 

Gardot has more of a bluesy style; with a sensitive and seductive voice.  She is considered music's most exciting discoveries; reaching this at just 28 years old. 

Gardot took music lessons at age nine.  At age 16, she played piano in bars on Friday and Saturday nights.  She liked playing The Mamas and the Papas, Duke Ellington and Radiohead.  She considered this a hobby of hers.  Then, at age 19, she was hit by a car and severely injured.  She suffered serious head and spinal injuries and her pelvis was broke in two areas.  This left her in a hospital for a year.  But music became a key element in her healing and changed her life.

This is what Gardot said:  "Like a lot of people my age, I grew up listening to what was popular," she explains.  "But after the accident, I couldn't tolerate anything above a whisper. As I couldn’t listen to the music I had before, I sought out other, quieter things. My friends gave me records, and one of the first was Stan Getz's The Bossa Nova Years.  I remember doing physical therapy to that, being on the treadmill, trying to learn to walk again.  That kind of music became infectious for me; I would hear it and not quite understand it at first, but then I'd go back and I'd get it.  I was learning as I was going, and so that type of music became more and more personal for me."

You can read the rest of her story on her website here

After that, Gardot began writing her own songs.  Her music has been compared to that of Nina Simone.  She has been influenced by such blues and jazz artists as Judy Garland, Janis Joplin, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Stan Getz and George Gershwin as well as Latin music artists such as Caetano Veloso.

Gardot studies the teachings of Buddhism and is a humanitarian who often speaks of the benefits of musical therapy. 

So sit back and take in the sounds of Melody Gardot.

Because

Your Heart is as Black

Edith and the Kingpin