Two Suitcases, a Pair of Sunglasses & a Cane:

My brother introduced me to American jazz singer Melody Gardot.

I was walking through his still-under-construction restaurant and heard the "Muzak" playing. Although the sound was bouncing off concrete floors and unfinished walls, I liked what I was hearing. I couldn't put my finger on who it was though... sounded like Diana Krall, but no... maybe Tracy Chapman, no... Norah Jones, uh no... but who? He offered Gardot.

Her second album, "My One and Only Thrill" was released last April, and it has made her an "international sensation." Besides Gardot's ultra-smooth, ultra-cool, scat-cat singing, her accompanists and arrangements are equally noteworthy. (Think a young, female Sinatra.) And her life-story supplies the foundation for pure soul.

Six years ago, Gardot was riding her bike through an intersection when a Jeep ran a red light. The accident fractured her pelvis, damaged her spine, and produced traumatic brain injury that affected her memory, speech, and left her hypersensitive to light and sound. The prognosis was not good and the pain was great. Physical therapy and drugs failed. Then music therapy was suggested. Gardot never gave up. Slowly -- after years and years -- music therapy began to rebuild the neural pathways in her brain, and a musical career was born.

Despite her rebirth, this beautiful and gifted blonde still has to wear dark glasses because of her sensitivity to light. She carries a cane to counter attacks of vertigo and to assist her walk. A devot Buddist, Gardot believes her faith was an important factor in her recovery. "To be truly Buddhist is to let everything go, your memory, your expectations." Her philosophy extends to her lifestyle. Her only possessions fit in two suitcases which she takes on concert tours.

My favorite song is Wicked Ride (sorry no link to that tune!) but another is Love Undercover. Enjoy, enjoy!