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Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

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New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Bark louder, little dog.

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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You are here: Home / Music / Great Voices

Great Voices

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Heard a song on the jazz show on WDUQ, a Pittsburgh Public radio station, by this singer named Melody Gardot. I’d never heard of her before but I immediately fell in love with her voice:

Not sure how I feel about the song, but I do love the voice. BTW- you can listen to the live stream of WDUQ– probably one of my favorite morning listens is Bob Studebaker’s jazz show.

Reader Interactions

58Comments

  2. 2.

    ChrisS

    Nice voice combined with pretty pleasant mug.

    And for pretty much all Jazz all the time, John, check out Syracuse’s WAER, Jazz 88 …

    Personally, my favorite streaming NPR station? WFUV from Fordham U.

  3. 3.

    Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion

    Melody Gardot is amazing. Her story is awe-inspiring, as well. I first caught her on Letterman a year or more ago, performing “Who Will Comfort Me?”, and was utterly star-struck. She’s been profiled on CBS sunday morning, as well, so I’m a little surprised you don’t already know about her, Mr. Cole.

  4. 4.

    cleek

    yeah, that’s a nice voice.

    for similar style, see also: Joss Stone, Diana Krall, Madeleine Peyroux, and of course Eva Cassidy.

  5. 5.

    maye

    I saw her perform on a “Live from Abbey Road” tv show on the sundance channel. She’s fantastic. If you like her, you might also like Duffy (a bit more motown-ish) and Paloma Faith (a bit more gaga-ish).

  6. 6.

    ken

    She is the best. She also has a very inspiring life story. Hit by a car while riding her bicycle, which left her unable to walk or talk. Used music, among other things, as therapy. Pretty incredble story. Incredible talent. Second album is tremendous.

  8. 8.

    peachy

    Pittsburgh radio is a mixed banquet: WDUQ is great; eclectic WYEP has some good things; there’s a little oldies station, WJPA, in Washington, Pa. that’s particularly good on weekends; and you can find, here and there, polka music on Saturday mornings.

    But CBS has turned KDKA–the first radio station in the US, fer gawdsake–into a horrible blend of syndicated and mindless local talk while jettisoning the public service commitment that made it so great under Westinghouse. (One year a huge snowstorm hit it the middle of the night, and KDKA continued to play the same prerecorded forecast from Accuweather all night rather than giving any updates.) I could almost cry when I listen to it and think of what it once was.

  15. 15.

    Brachiator

    @John Cole:

    I think I must be the only person on the planet who does not like Diana Krall.

    Not much impressed by her, either.

    I’m not very familiar with Gardot. Nice stuff. Oddly enough, I see from Madeleine Peyroux’s website that Peyroux, Gardot and Krall did a gig together in Australia in December 2009. Who knew?

  16. 16.

    Bret

    John, thanks for this! She sings a song in front of movies from that Screenvision ad company, and I didn’t know who she was. Been trying to find her for weeks.

  17. 17.

    sher

    @John Cole

    you’re not alone re Diana Krall; saw her live and fell asleep during her performance….boring, monotonous voice is like a sleeping pill

  21. 21.

    South of I-10

    Since I am in full blown Festival International de Louisiane mode, here is some Rupa and the April Fishes from last year. I am so bummed, Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears are stuck in Europe because of the stupid ash cloud. They were supposed to play twice, and I was planning to go to both shows. I guess there is still hope, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings were in the same predicament, and apparently just caught a flight and will play. Happy Festival, y’all!

  22. 22.

    Mr. Wonderful

    Nice arrangement, nice voice (there’s a little bit of Nellie McKay in there, too). That song, though, needs to be taken out behind the shed and severely disciplined. Another lyric opportunity squandered.

  23. 23.

    tom

    I stumbled onto Melody Gardot last year and fell in love in her voice. Another great singer in somewhat the same vein is Sophie Milman.

  24. 24.

    Max

    @Paul in KY: I love Adele. I was just rocking her this past weekend while unpacking.

    BTW – the house Im renting has stainless appliances and granite counters. Does that mean Im banned from here?

  26. 26.

    trollhattan

    I agree that A. she has an appealing voice and II. she reminds me of Madeline Peyroux. I’ve developed a strong affinity for female singers the last several years, so it’s always great to find a new artist. Title IX for music, baby!

    My singular dream is a female singer-songwriter-forklift driver implaing B.O.B with the forks while performing a sultry take of a Cole Porter song.

    I’m mixed on Diana Krall. She was a breath of fresh air when I first heard her maybe ten years ago, and her recordings are extremely well produced, but I don’t think she’s progressed much artistically since. I saw mister Krall in a solo concert a couple weeks ago and was reminded of who wears the musical britches in the family. (Yeah, I spelled “britches” correctly.)

    p.s. After discovering Holly Cole I kinda forgot about Diana Krall holding up the Canadian end of things.

  27. 27.

    geg6

    @peachy:

    I’m with you. I adore WDUQ and find WYEP interesting.

    Clear Channel has ruined so much of the Pittsburgh music market that DUQ and YEP sound even better than they are.

    I’m a rock and roller, first and foremost, but WDVE is just horrid. They have a set playlist of a few songs, mostly the oldest and most inoffensive rock imaginable, and that’s about it. WXDX is a little better simply by virtue of being aimed at the younger, alt rock demographic, but still quite limited in scope. I still find Jimmy and Randy’s morning DVE show a good listen (if you ignore the music and focus on the comedy), but the rest of the day is a total loss. I must say I find the Mark Madden afternoon show on the X infuriating but a must listen during hockey season. And I’m not sure how a sexist pig sports talk show show works during afternoon drive time on an alt rock station. But I admit my guilty secret: I listen every afternoon and then wash the dirt off when I get home.

  29. 29.

    John Cole

    That song, though, needs to be taken out behind the shed and severely disciplined. Another lyric opportunity squandered.

    I wasn’t very fond of the song, either- at least not for her. The funny thing is, I could imagine someone like Delbert McClinton pulling it off. In fact, it sounds a lot like some of the songs on Nothing Personal- pick up the tempo a bit and Qiet Fire would fit run in.

    Her voice is unbelievable, though.

  30. 30.

    Dr. Morpheus

    Um, great voice, but she sounds exactly like Norah Jones, or Robin Ragland, or about a dozen other pop Jazz female singers.

  32. 32.

    The Main Gauche of Mild Reason

    Song is terrible, though. Entirely wrong style for her style of performance; she seems to be dragging down the tempo in places.

  33. 33.

    frankdawg

    I am trying to listen at work but it is taking forever to DL – I guess that means I am waiting for Gardot.

    Thank you, I’ll be here all week.

  35. 35.

    Violet

    @John Cole:

    I think I must be the only person on the planet who does not like Diana Krall.

    I’m not a fan either. Her voice lacks a certain life, somehow. There’s no doubt she’s talented. But she’s a bit bland. Or something.

  37. 37.

    Bob K

    You know – I was having this discussion with my cat the other day. “Rachel Ray sounds a little bit hoarse lately don’t you think?”

    “Yyyyoww.”

    “I hear she had to have surgery to remove polyps from her vocal chords and couldn’t talk for days”

    “Mrrrrow?”

    “Must be hard on her voice doing her daily show and still filming “Thirty Minute Meals”

    “NNooowww!”

    “Could you imagine if a singer with a voice like (your favorite singer of all time here) woke up one day and her voice sounded like Sarah Palin’s?”

    Boris flattened his ears, his tail bristled, he looked at me and said “I’d just freakin’ kill myself”

  41. 41.

    Bob K

    For people whining about the “Wallyworld Gift Card” message which I just heard for the first time now. Quit your whining – if they were really on the ball they would have paid $arah Palin her One Hundred Thou$and Dollar $peaking fee and watched in the next week as the laptops flew out the door by the boatload. Of course that would backfire when us we would all go to the evil Socialist Breast Buyz to get replacements so never mind, carry on. This joke is just floating by you – you never really even saw it.

  43. 43.

    frankdawg

    So it finally loaded & I listened to a couple of her songs. Nice, inoffensive, pleasant. If I were driving from St. Louis to San Diego I wouldn’t mind a couple of her songs in the mix but I wouldn’t want much more than than.

    “I give a 87 Mr. Clark, because it has a beat and you can dance to it.”

  44. 44.

    Josh

    With the death of Teddy P, I think Melody’s gotta be the premier vocalist of the Philadelphia disability community.

  48. 48.

    wlrube

    There needs to be a distinction in this discussion between having a great voice and being a great artist. People like Diana Krall have phenomenal pipes, but you pretty much never see any innovative jazz instrumentalists in their working bands (unless they really need the money) because the music they sing is boring to play, and if you’re accustomed to hearing interesting and intelligent music it can be frustrating to listen to. In the same way that Tom Friedman is a much better writer than he is a thinker, she’s a much better singer than she is a musician.

    Abbey Lincoln and Cassandra Wilson are 2 established singers who other musicians really respect. Esperanza Spalding is an incredibly legit emerging singer, partly because she’s also a bassist.

  49. 49.

    cleek

    @wlrube:

    Cassandra Wilson is a national treasure.

    and then there are people like John Pizzarelli who can sing and play… for example.

    though he’s no C. Wilson vocally (obviously), he’s still a respectable singer.

  50. 50.

    trollhattan

    @cleek:

    Saw Cassandra last year and yeah, she’s quirky as hell and a hell of a singer and performer. What really stuck with me was her band–the best group of jazz musicians I’ve ever seen. Quite a show.

  51. 51.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Thanks for this, John. I wasn’t familiar with Melody Gardot and I agree, she has a lovely voice. Would want to hear more of her stuff to get a sense of what kind of stylist she is.

    Does anyone here know Karrin Allyson? I’m a big fan of her earlier albums, not so much the last couple she’s released.
    Link: http://www.karrin.com/

  52. 52.

    Cat Lady

    I went to see Melody Gardot at a little club in Cambridge last year. She’s great, with a great band and a great stage presence. Don’t miss her if you can see her in a small place.

  53. 53.

    Drew

    I’ve been a listener and member of WDUQ for most of the last 20 years – its my favorite of all of the public radio stations I have listened and subscribed to in my perambulations around the country. “Who Will Comfort Me” is another song by Melody Gardot that has been getting a lot of play on Tony Mowod’s show on DUQ (7 PM to 11 PM). It is a much better song and allows he to really show off her voice. Check it out on her web site.

  55. 55.

    Ben Mays

    In my house (wife and I – 50ish and daughter 16), we would add Charlotte Martin, Rachel Yamagata, Vienna Tang and Keri Noble.

  58. 58.

    Nancy Irving

    Very nice (except for the organ, yuck).

    And by the way, in jazz it’s a “tune,” not a “song.” :)

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