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Biography
Infobox musical artist|name = Melody Gardot|image = MGardotLainez.jpg|caption = Gardot in Paris , France (2008)|years_active = 2005–present|background = solo_singer|Born = birth date and age|mf=yes|1985|2|2, New Jersey |origin = Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , United States|genre = Jazz , acoustic music|acoustic , blues |occupation = Singer-songwriter , musician |instrument = Vocals , piano , acoustic guitar|guitar |label = Universal Classics and Jazz#UCJ Music|UCJ / Verve Records|Verve (2009–present)|website = http://www.melodygardot.com/ www.melodygardot.com Melody Gardot IPA-en|g?r'do?| (born February 2, 1985) is a Grammy-nominated United States|American singer, writer and musician in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , though she considers herself a "citizen of the world".cite web|url= http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm? id=280994& town=& n=Globetrotting%20Melody%20Gardot%20makes%20Westhampton%20Beach%20a%20stop%20for%20a%20performance%20on%20June%206|title=Globetrotting Melody Gardot |accessdate=2010-06-10 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 .cite web|url= http://www.myspace.com/melody|title=Official Myspace Page |accessdate=2009-04-21 Her music has been compared to that of Nina Simone .cite web|url= http://www.kcrw.com/media-player/mediaPlayer2.html? type=audio& id=cafe_la|title=KCRW Tom Schnabel Music Program 2011,03,27 @17:55
Gardot follows the teachings of Buddhism ,cite journal|last=Kerr|first=Alison|date=13-06-2009|title=Interview|journal=The Herald Magazine|pages=14–17cite news|url= http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article5980706.ece|title=Melody Gardot: Music is my love – men are just my lovers|last=Iley |first=Chrissy|work=Times online|accessdate=21 November 2009|location=iley | date=2009-03-29 is a macrobiotic cookcite web|url= http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/gettingstarted.htm|title=Macrobiotics.co.uk |accessdate=2009-03-16 and humanitarian who often speaks about the benefits of music therapy. She has visited various universities and hospitals to speak about its ability to help reconnect neural pathways in the brain, improve speech ability, and lift general spirits. In a recent interview she was rumoredCitation needed|date=July 2011 to be working closely in a university in the United States to help develop a program for music therapy and the management of pain, something she has spoken about establishing in the future on her own.Citation needed|date=July 2011
Early life and education
Gardot was born in New Jersey and was brought up largely by her grandparents. Her grandmother was a Polish immigrant and her mother a photographer who worked and traveled frequently. They moved around often and as a consequence had very few possessions, often living out of suitcases.cite book|last=Iley|first=Chrissie|title=The Sunday Times Magazine|date=2009-03-29|pages=12–17
Gardot studied fashion at the Community College of Philadelphia .cite web|url= http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2005-05-12/music3.shtml|title=Unchained Melody|work=Philadelphia Citypaper|accessdate=2009-08-09
Accident and therapy
While cycling in Philadelphia in November 2003cite web|url= http://www.jazzreview.com/article/review-4262.html|title=Melody Gardot hits New York |date=July 2005|accessdate=2009-08-09 she was hit by a Jeep Cherokee (XJ)|Jeep Cherokee whose driver had ignored a red traffic light. In the accident she suffered serious head and spinal injuries and her broken pelvis|pelvis was broken in two places. Because of these severe injuries she was confined to her hospital bed for a year and had to remain lying on her back. As a further consequence of her injuries she had to re-learn simple tasks such as brushing her teeth and walking. The most noticeable effect of the neural injuries she suffered is that she was left hyper-sensitive to both light and sound, therefore requiring her to wear dark sunglasses at nearly all times to shield her eyes. The accident also resulted in both long and short term memory problems and difficulty with her sense of time. Gardot has described coping with this as like "climbing Mount Everest every day" as she often wakes with no memory of what she has to do that day.
Initially prompted by an attending physician who believed music would help her brain injury drastically improve, Gardot began writing music after her accident http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/359/melody_gardot_meldoy_cool/ Melody Gardot interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' November 2008 and since then often speaks and advocates in favour of using music for therapy. The accident had damaged the neural pathways between the brain's two cortexes which control perception and higher mental function, and made Gardot (in her own words) "a bit of a vegetable."cite web|url= http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2009/05/01/1240982395719.html? page=2|title=Melody Gardot should not be playing music|last=Zuel|first=Bernard|date=02-05-2009|work=Brisbane Times|accessdate=2009-08-09 As well as making it very hard for her to speak or communicate properly, she found it difficult to recall the right words to express her feelings.
Music involving listening and making a verbal attempt to sing or hum is thoughtWho|date=January 2010 to help the brain form new pathways.Citation needed|date=January 2010 At first, Gardot learned to hum and was eventually able to sing into a tape recorder. She made good progress and was eventually able to write original songs that sometimes referred to her rehabilitation.
For several years after the accident Gardot traveled with a physiotherapist and carried a TENS machine strapped to her waist which released pain reducing impulses.
She was introduced to macrobiotics by a friend who lent her a book on its benefits and she began to experiment and cook for several hours a day. As well as reducing her pain levels, she feels that macrobiotics helped her mental ability to cope with pain, helping her relax as the routine of cooking helped take her mind off her physical condition, and she found she was able to sleep more easily.cite web|url= http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/features/melodygardot.htm|title=Macrobiotics Guide|accessdate=2009-08-09
Music career
Gardot started music lessons at the age of ninecite web|url= http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/melodygardot/bio/|title=Melody Gardot Biography|accessdate=2009-08-09 and began playing piano in Philadelphia bars at the age of sixteen on Fridays and Saturdays for four hours a night. She insisted on only playing music she liked, ranging from standards from The Mamas & the Papas to Duke Ellington and modern groups such as Radiohead .cite web|url= http://www.classicsandjazz.co.uk/plink/Melody+Gardot|title=Melody Gardot |accessdate=2009-08-09
During her time in hospital she learned how to play the guitar and began writing songs, which were made available as downloads in iTunes and released in Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions in 2005. She began to play these songs at venues in Philadelphia and was spotted by the radio station WXPN , operated by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, which helped to launch Norah Jones . As well as playing her songs, WXPN encouraged her to assemble a demo, which was quickly picked up by Universal Records .
Released in 2006 and then re-released by Verve Records in 2008, her first full-length album was entitled Worrisome Heart . After meeting her in New York City in 2008, producer Larry Klein began working with Gardot and they released her second album, My One and Only Thrill , on April 28, 2009. From this album, the song "Who Will Comfort Me? " became a top 10 hit at Smooth Jazz radio. Also in 2009, Gardot released a live EP, Live from SoHo (Melody Gardot EP)|Live from SoHo . Gardot is a recipient of the 2007 VSA International Young Soloists Award.
Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|FRA : 2× Platinum http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/pag-259165-CERTIFICATIONS.html? year=2009& type=13 French album certifications – Melody Gardot – My One and Only Thrill (in French)
Bundesverband Musikindustrie|GER : Gold http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/? action=suche& strTitel=My+One+and+Only+Thrill& strInterpret=Melody+Gardot& strTtArt=alben& strAwards=checked Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Melody Gardot; 'My One and Only Thrill') (in German)
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry|SWE : 2× Platinum http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/%C3%85r-2010.pdf Guld- och Platinacertifikat - Ĺr 2010
"—" denotes a title that did not chart
Extended plays
Title
Album details
Peak chart positions
US Jazz
Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions
Released: May 3, 2005
Label: Independent
Formats: CD , music download|digital download
Live from SoHo
Released: March 24, 2009
Label: Verve
Formats: digital download
"—" denotes a title that did not chart
Singles
" Worrisome Heart (song)|Worrisome Heart " (2008)
"Goodnite" (2008)
"Quiet Fire" (2008)
" Who Will Comfort Me " (2009) (#6 on Jazz Songs)
" Baby I'm a Fool " (2009) (#28 on Jazz Songs)
"Your Heart Is As Black As Night" (2011)
Collaborations
Gardot appears on the following songs, on vocals and occasionally piano or guitar, by other artists:
Bluer Than A Midnight Sky – Beaucoup Blue – Free To Fall
My Sweet Darling – Seth Kallen & The Reaction – Exhibit A
A Meditation On War And The Fight For Love – Phil Roy – The Great Longing
Derričre L'arc-En-Ciel/Over the Rainbow – Eddy Mitchell – Grand Ecran
Under My Skin - A 30 second Frank Sinatra cover used in the 2008 Chevy Malibu commercials
Covers of songs by other songwriters
As she is usually considered a jazz singer, Gardot is unusual in her output of original songs so early in her career. Nearly all of the songs on her recordings are original work, although some were co-written with Jesse Harris . She has, however, performed covers of songs by some well-known songwriters:
Fever (1956 song)|Fever – Cooley/Blackwell, Peggy Lee (live performance during 2007 London Jazz Festival Ella Fitzgerald tribute concert)
Over the Rainbow – Harold Arlen , Yip Harburg ( My One and Only Thrill ; numerous live performances during 2008-2010)
'' Ain't No Sunshine – Bill Withers ( My One and Only Thrill , Deluxe Edition; several live performances during 2008-2009)
Blue Motel Room – Joni Mitchell (performed live in Philadelphia in 2006)
Edith and the Kingpin – Joni Mitchell (performed on Live From Abbey Road in 2008, with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter )
La Chanson des Vieux Amants – Jacques Brel (performed live in Paris in 2009, with David Preston on guitar)
Because (The Beatles song)|Because – The Beatles (performed on Live from Abbey Road in 2009, with David Preston on guitar)
Get Out of Town – Cole Porter (performed live in Paris in 2010 in two different arrangements, and on BBC Four Sessions 2010)
Someday My Prince Will Come – Larry Morey (lyrics) & Frank Churchill (performed on BBC Four Sessions 2010)
Summertime (song)|Summertime – DuBose Heyward (lyrics) & George Gershwin (numerous live performances in 2010 summer tour, often in medley with 'Fever')
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.melodygardot.com Melody Gardot official website
http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/melodygardot Melody Gardot at Verve Records website
Melody Gardot Persondata | NAME =Gardot, Melody | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =1985-02-02 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Gardot, Melody Category:American jazz singers Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Community College of Philadelphia alumni Category:Living people Category:1985 births Category:Female jazz musicians Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:American female singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American people with disabilities Category:American people of Polish descent Category:American vegetarians Category:American Buddhists
