Amazing though it is, the story of how Melody Gardot overcame the effects of a near-fatal accident to become one of the vocal sensations of 2008 is not the most extraordinary thing about the 23-year-old Philadelphia singer-songwriter. It is simply that here is a voice in a million; one that touches the soul.
Melody's debut album `Worrisome Heart' introduced, in The Sunday Times' words: "a remarkable talent by any measure", with songs of quiet, wistful poetry in arrangements that "ooze after-hours sophistication". Yet the follow-up, for release in April 2009, marks a substantial leap forward. `My One And Only Thrill' is an intensely creative milestone, transcending genre distinctions of jazz and blues to offer a haunting personal musical statement that will appeal to all music-lovers. As with her acclaimed live shows she captures and holds her audience in the palm of her hand.
These eleven songs, covering a wide range of emotions, are all her own except for an irresistible, Brazilian take on Somewhere Over The Rainbow. It would take a heart of stone to remain unmoved by the poignant title track My One And Only Thrill. And when the album is finished (as Irving Berlin wrote truly) the song is over, but the Melody lingers on . . .
