Once again the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) has introduced a gem to Oman, this time in the form of American jazz singer Melody Gardot, who stole the hearts of her audience on Thursday night with her talent and funny charm.
The 29-year-old singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist, turned her concert into a journey through from the USA to Latin America, France, Spain and Portugal. She was backed by an impressive group of musicians: drummer Charles Staab, percussionist Pete Korpela, Mitchell Long on guitar, Dan Lutz on bass, and Irwin Hall on saxophone and flute.
Her journey started in the USA with a couple of her own English jazz songs, where she sat at the piano, dressed in a black suit, big black hat, red heels, and let her sensual voice tease out the lyrics to The Rain, a smouldering, seductive song that highlights her vocal control, and then launched into the flirtatious and fun Goodnight.
After a few songs at the piano Gardot stood at a microphone at centre stage and sashayed and swayed her way through a song in Portuguese before admitting that she was actually quite nervous because this was her first performance in 10 years with a cane she used to need to walk, following a devastating accident that left her with pelvic and spinal injuries. Clearly, she doesn't need the cane any longer, as she seemed to move with ease, and continued to bring a sparkling energy to Mira, a playful track that blends English and Spanish.
As Gardot left the stage for a wardrobe change the multitalented Irwin Hall impressed the audience with his saxophones. Playing one saxophone with another hanging around his neck, he made his way to the front of the stage. While a change from one to the other would have been expected, instead Hall shocked the audience by playing both at once!
The applause for Hall died down as Gardot, now in a long black dress and rhinestone studded leather jacket came back to the stage to continue the musical journey with a stopover in Paris, with her French song Les Etoiles (The Stars).
This was followed by a lovely cover of Cesaria Evora's Sodade, which Gardot said hoped would channel the spirit of the Cape Verdean singer.
Gardot then turned to her guitars, revealing another side of her talents. Soft, quiet and ever sublime, she slowed down for two songs from her album My One and Only Thrill, including Our Love Is Easy and Baby I'm a Fool, which she dedicated to all the people who believe the most important things in life are to love and be loved. She ran into some audio problems, but carried on acoustically like a pro, joking about it and thanking the audience for their patience.
A visit to Spain came next, with a flamenco-spiced version of So We Meet Again My Heartache. The Latin vibes continued with Iemanja, in which she had the audience singing back to her and trying desperately to emulate her phenomenal vocal runs.
Following the final song Goodbye, and after a long, insistent applause, Gardot and her boys came back for an encore, playing the classic Over the Rainbow, bringing the concert to gentle finish back in the USA in honour of her grandmother, who used to play the song for her.
It was truly a fabulous concert, and hopefully the ROHM doesn't wait too long before inviting Melody Gardot back for another joy evening of jazz.
By Sarah Macdonald
