Madeleine Peyroux

Vocalist Madeleine Peyroux can best be thought of as a Billie Holiday for the 1990s. Like Holiday, Peyroux was marketed as a jazz singer, when what she seems to do best is sing blues music. Though Peyroux may remind some listeners of Holiday, there are differences, and she has her own sense of phrasing and interpretation. Her 1996 Atlantic Records debut, Dreamland, is a brilliant recording, as Peyroux\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s distinctive voice is not hindered by overly intricate arrangements. Most of the accompaniment on the record is light and sparse, the way it should be for a singer with such a unique voice.

It took another eight years, however, for her follow-up, Careless Love, to hit shelves. This time working with producer Larry Klein on Rounder Records, Peyroux explored a more contemporary and eclectic mix of covers, including Elliott Smith\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Between the Bars,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Bob Dylan\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"You\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re Going to Make Me Lonesome,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" as well as older songs like Hank Williams\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Weary Blues.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" It was very well received and made the 2006 release of Half the Perfect World, again a combination of covers and originals, highly anticipated. The record, which featured a duet with k.d. lang, included versions of songs by Serge Gainsbourg and Tom Waits, among others.

“Music for adults …” -- Chicago Tribune