Madeleine Peyroux: Somethin' Grand

Since arriving on the scene in the 1990s, singer Madeleine Peyroux has been compared to Billie Holiday, but while there's only one Lady Day, the comparisons are not inappropriate, given Peyroux's dusky voice and relaxed delivery. What's more, her music, in the words of one admirer, sounds as if it comes “from another era”—one that might have been inhabited by Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Edith Piaf, all singers whose music Peyroux has covered. This 17-song performance, recorded in a nightclub-like studio setting in Los Angeles in 2009, focuses on the vocalist's own compositions (many of them from her most recent recording, Bare Bones). It's classy, graceful music—jazzy, but not exactly jazz—with accompaniment from both veterans (guitarist Dean Parks, violinist Lisa Germano, bassist-producer Larry Klein) and young lions (organist Sam Yahel, drummer Joey Waronker). Peyroux has some very distinguished co-writers—like Klein, Steely Dan's Walter Becker, and Jesse Harris—making for some solid original material, especially the happy break-up song “I'm All Right,” the old-timey “Instead,” and the title tune. Still, it's the covers that stand out, especially a surprisingly swinging take on Leonard Cohen's “Dance Me to the End of Love,” Serge Gainsbourg's “La Javanaise” (sung in perfect French), Elliott Smith's “Between the Bars,” and Bob Dylan's “You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go.” DVD extras include a bonus hour-shy documentary (featuring archival footage and interviews with Peyroux and others), and five additional acoustic performances. Presented in DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital stereo, this is recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)