“We’ve got all the time in the world”, Melody Gardot told me as we started our conversation about her music, her life, and her latest recording, My One and Only Thrill. Unhurried is just one word you might use to describe Gardot. Her speech, singing, and musicianship all have a careful, often tender pace that clearly focuses the attention on whatever is before her.
Melody Gardot’s story may be somewhat familiar by now. She came to the public ear with a debut album recorded with local Philadelphia musicians. At the time, she was still recovering from a catastrophic accident that left her with spinal and neurological damage that affects her ability to walk and her sensitivity to light and sound. During a year in the hospital, music became therapy for Gardot, and the resulting record was a delicate and melodic affair, a pop album for jazz lovers, perhaps.