There are simply so few vocalists out there that don’t sound like they’re trying to sound like someone else, that when someone comes along like Melody Gardot, who not only sings like an original, but composes like one, you’ve got to take notice. On the first day of fall in LA (did the weather REALLY change that much?), Ms Gardot not only enraptured the crowd with intimate tales of exotica, but could also get the laid back Angelenos on their collective feet with some festive foot stompers and hand clappers.
Teamed up with a jazzy quinetet which included a drummer, percussionist, bass, guitar and reed-meister, Gardot opened the evening a cappella, opening her vulnerable heart with a subdued yet bohemian voice that lead itself to gentle material like the cabaret “If I Tell You I Love You” and the Iberian sounding “Lisboa.” Her mix of French-styled Chasson and Mediterranean Bohemia “Le Etoiles” while she agonized over her heart and soul on the Peggy Lee cool “Our Love Is Easy.” Her delivery can be achingly vulnerable as well as celebratory and she can show off her jazz chops on guitar or piano as well on the Caribbean “Lemanja,” from her most recent and satisfying release The Absence. Her encore of “Summertime” with a dash of “Fever” demonstrated Ms. Gardot’s ability to sound hot while playing it cool, something few can do unless they’ve lived a life worth telling. She’s got a life story, and she told it to the downtown crowd this September evening.