Jazz Profile - Melody Gardot

Melody Gardot started playing piano in Philadelphia bars at the age of sixteen with a wide variety genres from jazz to Radiohead.She later said that she was being paid to goof-off with music and never considered it as a long-term career. But later, she would use music save herself and triumph.


In 2003, when she was just 19, Gardot was riding her bicycle when she was hit by a Jeep which ran a red light. She broke her pelvis and suffered major head and spinal injuries. She stayed in the hospital for over a year forced to lie flat on her back. After this, she had to learn how to walk again. She also became hyper-sensitive to light and as a result always wears dark glasses. The accident also resulted in both long and short term memory problems and she says she often wakes with no memory of what she has to do that day.

The accident damaged the area of the brain which controls perception and higher mental function, making it hard for her to speak or communicate properly and even find the right words to express her feelings.

Gardot began using music as therapy for her brain injuries, the attempts to sing, recall the words, and keep time, helped heal the needed areas of the brain. Gardot first re-learned how to hum and began singing into a tape recorder. She then learned guitar and, as she progressed, she began writing her own songs.

Soon she began recording her own songs, singing them from her bed into the recording equipment. These songs were released on the Internet as Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions. The songs became download hits and began to receive radio play. That led her to create a demo, and eventually to land a record deal.

Described as ‘the epitome of laid-back cool’ Gardot’s songs have a lilting thankfulness to fate and an optimistic inclination towards romance. The lyrics from the song ‘Our Love is Easy’ are good examples.

Every time we meet it's like the first we kiss
Never growing tired of this endlessness
It's a simple thing, we don't need a ring
Our love is easy

Her smooth style and classic jazz sound have drawn many comparisons with Billie Holliday. But Gardot brings much more gratitude of life and optimism than the world-weary Holliday.

Gardot has been deeply affected by her Buddhism and claims it is the largest influence in her life. Her serene approach in her songs may be a reflection of this. Gardot claims that all of her possessions in the world fit into her two suitcases which she carries with her on concert tours.