by James Cassara

Frequently referred to as a Billie Holiday for our times, vocalist Madeleine Peyroux can best be described as a jazz singer whose heart and soul lies firmly with the blues.

While there are some obvious surface similarities to Holiday – and Peyroux is both respectful and awed by the vocal giants who preceded her – she is no mere derivative, possessing her own sense of phrasing and interpretation while continually expanding her stylistic repertoire.

Her 1996 Atlantic Records debut, Dreamland, remains a seminal and brilliant work of the time, as the singer’s unique voice is not hindered by the overly intricate arrangements that plagued much of that decade’s music. Most of the accompaniment on the record (which featured such New York jazz luminaries as pianist Cyrus Chestnut, drummer Leon Parker, saxophonist/clarinetist James Carter, and guitarists Vernon Reid and Marc Ribot) is light and sparse, the way it should be for a singer with such an exceptional voice.

How the then-unknown Peyroux was able to recruit such notables is reflective of her own fascinating story.

Peyroux was born in Athens, Georgia, and raised between Southern California, Brooklyn, and Paris. She began singing at age 15, when she discovered the Latin Quarter in Paris and quickly became enamored with the street musicians and the purity of the music they made. By 1989, she was working with a group of musicians called the Riverboat Shufflers, and after working for a while as a hat passer for the group, she began singing with them. By the age of 17 she was touring Europe.

The nucleus of that group, which formed the basis for her first album, helped further her interest in the songs of Fats Waller, Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and others. Though Dreamland was by no means a straight-ahead jazz album, Peyroux and her producers take a thoroughly modern approach to blues tunes from the 1920s and ‘30s. She interprets well known standards in ways that are both reverent and expansive. And unlike Smith or Holiday, who weren’t known as songwriters, Peyroux has become increasingly comfortable at writing her own material.

For a variety of reasons – some related to health issues on her part – it took eight years for her second album to arrive. Careless Love found her on Rounder Records and working with producer/bassist Larry Klein. 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.

Peyroux again mixed in more contemporary songs, including songs by Serge Gainsbourg and Tom Waits, older with self penned tunes and the expected oldies. 2009’s Bare Bones was her first to feature all original compositions (some shared with co-writers) and was greeted with largely favorable reviews.

Following her first extended international tour, Peyroux had a much needed hiatus, emerging in June of 2011 with Standing on the Rooftop, her debut for Decca Records. Among other gems it offered a restrained yet elegant cover of the Beatles’ “Martha My Dear,” and a pair of tunes co-written with violinist Jenny Scheinman. Peyroux enlisted a stellar core band including guitarists Marc Ribot and Chris Bruce, bassist Me’Shell Ndegeocello, and drummer Charlie Drayton, and guest appearances by Patrick Warren and Allen Toussaint, among others.

Since its release Peyroux has maintained a steady (and more sensible) tour routine as well as intermittently laying down basic tracks for an anticipated 2013 release. While touring is her primary love she finds herself increasingly comfortable in the studio. But until such a time, seeing Peyroux in concert, of which I’ve twice had the pleasure, is an unforgettable experience. Don’t miss the opportunity to see one of the true young stars of present-day jazz/blues/pop, one who relishes the past while creating the future.