Melody Gardot

Melody Gardot (b. 1985) is a jazz musician based in Philadelphia, United States. Born on 2nd February 1985 in New Jersey, she took up piano and played as a youngster on the nightclub scene of Philadelphia, influenced by jazz, folk, rock and pop musics. At the age of nineteen she was a fashion student at the Community College of Philadelphia. One day, while riding her bicycle, the driver of a Jeep made an illegal turn, hurtling into Gardot, and leaving her in the street for dead.

Born on 2nd February 1985 in New Jersey, she took up piano and played as a youngster on the nightclub scene of Philadelphia, influenced by jazz, folk, rock and pop musics. At the age of nineteen she was a fashion student at the Community College of Philadelphia. One day, while riding her bicycle, the driver of a Jeep made an illegal turn, hurtling into Gardot, and leaving her in the street for dead. Hospitalized for months with multiple head injuries and pelvic fractures, her love of music was the best therapy she could receive.

Her musical beginning was prompted by a tending physician who was concerned with her cognitive impairment as a result of head injury sustained in the accident. He believed that music would help her brain injury drastically improve, as it has been known to show remarkable results in improving people's cognitive ability after such trauma. Music can help by rebuilding the pathways within the brain which are necessary for recalling data.

Following her doctor's suggestion, Gardot made recordings bedside, while still unable to walk, and eventually released the works as an EP: Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions (2005). Gardot's desire to be well, combined with a bit of luck, brought her to the attention of a local radio DJ at the AAA station WXPN (known for launching the careers of artists such as Amos Lee and Norah Jones). Her cognitive powers slowly but surely became pronounced, leading to the independent recording and release of her debut CD, Worrisome Heart, which was reissued in 2007 by Verve records.

Gardot is hypersensitive to light and noise, thus she wears dark glasses, and uses a cane to walk. On-stage she requires a special seating unit, and wears a Transcutaneous Electro-Nerve Stimulator, a TENS device, to assist in alleviating her neuralgic muscle pain. Though touring is difficult, she has been performing in major cities on the East Coast to support her recordings. In 2009, working with producer Larry Klein and arranger Vince Mendoza - both known for their work with Joni Mitchell - Gardot followed up her Verve debut with My One And Only Thrill.