Melody Gardot

Gardot worked across singer-songwriter, jazz musician, singer, composer and pianist and 3 further recorded occupations. The registers place that work in pop music and jazz. This article rests on 76 catalogued compositions, 2 published texts, 38 issued recordings, 2 digitised documents and 3 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

• Name — Melody Gardot • Birth Name — Melody Joy Gardot • Born — 2 February 1985 • Birthplace — New Jersey, United States • Origin — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States • Genre — * Jazz • blues • bossa nova • folk • pop • Occupation — * Musician • singer • songwriter • composer • Instrument — * Vocals • guitar • piano • Works — * Worrisome Heart • My One and Only Thrill • The Absence • Currency of Man • Years Active — 2004–present • Label — * Verve • Decca • Website — www.melodygardot.com

Gardot was born in New Jersey and was brought up by her grandparents. Her grandmother was a Polish immigrant. Her mother, a photographer, traveled often, so they had few possessions and lived out of suitcases. Gardot studied fashion at the Community College of Philadelphia.

While riding her bicycle in Philadelphia in November 2003, Gardot was struck by a car and sustained head, spinal, and pelvic injuries. Confined to a hospital bed for a year, she needed to relearn simple tasks and was left oversensitive to light and sound. Suffering from short- and long-term memory loss, she struggled with her sense of time. Encouraged by a physician who believed music would help heal her brain, Gardot learned to hum, then to sing into a tape recorder, and eventually to write songs. For several years, she traveled with a physiotherapist and carried a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator to reduce pain. Given her oversensitivity to sound, she chose quieter music. On the treadmill, she listened to bossa nova by Stan Getz, specifically "The Girl from Ipanema". Unable to sit comfortably at the piano, she learned to play guitar on her back. During her recovery, she wrote songs that became part of the self-produced EP Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions. Gardot was reluctant to record her songs at first, stating that they were too private for the public to hear, but relented and allowed her songs to be played on a Philadelphia radio station.

Gardot is a Buddhist, macrobiotic cook, and humanitarian. She speaks fluent French and some Portuguese in addition to her native English and considers herself a "citizen of the world". In December 2025, she announced that she had become a mother.

• Illustration — Gardot in concert, Portugal, 2012 Gardot began studying music at the age of nine and was exposed early to a wide range of musical styles. As a teenager, she developed as a live performer, playing piano in bars and clubs around Philadelphia by the age of 16. Performing several nights a week, she insisted on playing only music she admired, drawing on influences that ranged from classic pop and jazz artists such as The Mamas & the Papas and Duke Ellington to alternative rock acts including Radiohead. At the age of 19, Gardot was seriously injured in a road accident and spent an extended period in hospital. During her recovery, she learned to play the guitar and began writing songs as part of her rehabilitation through music therapy. These early recordings were initially released as digital downloads on iTunes and later compiled on the EP Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions (2005). She began performing this material at small venues in Philadelphia, where her understated vocal style and introspective songwriting attracted increasing attention. Gardot’s growing reputation led to interest from staff at WXPN, a public radio station operated by the University of Pennsylvania. Encouraged to submit a demo, her recordings eventually reached representatives of the Universal Music Group. She subsequently signed with Verve Records, marking a transition from independent artist to major-label recording musician. Her debut studio album, Worrisome Heart (2006), presented a minimalist, jazz-oriented sound that emphasized mood, restraint, and emotional subtlety. The album was well received by critics and established her as a distinctive new voice in contemporary jazz. Gardot achieved broader international success with her second album, My One and Only Thrill (2009), produced by Larry Klein. Featuring orchestral arrangements and a more polished production, the album brought her significant commercial recognition, particularly in Europe, and positioned her as a leading figure in modern vocal jazz. Gardot continued to evolve artistically with The Absence (2012), an album influenced by her travels in South America and North Africa. Drawing on elements of bossa nova, Latin music, and world music, the record expanded her sonic palette while maintaining her characteristic introspective tone. Her subsequent release, Currency of Man (2015), marked a shift toward a stronger emphasis on blues and soul, incorporating themes of social awareness and personal reflection. In 2020, Gardot released Sunset in the Blue, recorded with producer Larry Klein and arranger Vince Mendoza. The album blended orchestral jazz textures with contemporary songwriting and was noted for its mature, reflective character. Throughout her career, Gardot has maintained a strong presence as a live performer, touring extensively across Europe, North America, and Asia, and appearing at major jazz festivals and concert halls. Like other long-running recording artists, Gardot’s career has been marked by continual stylistic development rather than adherence to a single musical phase. Her body of work reflects a balance between tradition and innovation, combining classic jazz sensibilities with modern influences and personal narrative, and has contributed to her sustained critical and international recognition.

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications • Title — Details — Peak chart positions — Sales — Certifications • US — AUS — AUT — FRA — GER — JPN — NLD — NOR — SWE — UK • Worrisome Heart — * Released: February 26, 2008 * Label: Verve * Formats: CD, LP, digital download — 80 — 93 — — — 8 — 44 — 86 — — — 31 — 25 — 172 — * US: 100,000 — * BPI: Silver * BVMI: Gold * SNEP: Gold • My One and Only Thrill — * Released: April 28, 2009 * Label: Verve, Universal Classics and Jazz * Formats: CD, LP, digital download — 42 — 23 — 44 — 4 — 4 — 27 — 20 — 2 — 1 — 12 — * US: 117,000 * FRA: 270,000 * UK: 100,000 — * ARIA: Gold * BPI: Gold * BVMI: Platinum * GLF: 2× Platinum * IFPI NOR: Platinum * SNEP: 2× Platinum • The Absence — * Released: May 28, 2012 * Label: Decca * Formats: CD, LP, digital download — 33 — 43 — 10 — 3 — 9 — 22 — 15 — 1 — 3 — 18 — * US: 51,000 — * SNEP: Platinum • Currency of Man — * Released: June 2, 2015 * Label: Decca * Formats: CD, LP, digital download — 124 — 80 — 16 — 5 — 11 — 59 — 12 — 14 — — — 31 • Sunset in the Blue — * Released: October 23, 2020 * Label: Decca * Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — 13 — 18 — 27 — 88 — — — — — — — 40 • Entre eux deux (with Philippe Powell) — * Released: May 20, 2022 * Label: Decca * Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — — — 66 — 17 — 22 — — — 17 — — — — — — • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

List of live albums, with selected chart positions • Title — Details — Peak chart positions • US Current — US Jazz — AUT — FRA — GER — JPN — NLD • Live in Europe — * Released: February 9, 2018 * Label: Decca * Formats: CD, LP — 97 — 2 — 14 — 16 — 14 — 162 — 152

List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions • Title — Details — Peak chart positions • BEL (FL) — BEL (WA) — FRA • The Essential Melody Gardot — * Released: October 25, 2024 * Label: Decca * Formats: 2×CD, 2×LP, digital download — 171 — 137 — 44

List of extended plays, with selected chart positions • Title — Details — Peak chart positions • US Jazz • Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions — * Released: May 3, 2005 * Label: Self-released * Format: CD — — • Live from SoHo — * Released: March 24, 2009 * Label: Verve * Format: Digital download — 2 • Bye Bye Blackbird — * Released: 2010 * Label: Verve * Formats: CD, digital download — — • A Night with Melody EP — * Released: April 6, 2011 * Label: Decca * Format: CD — — • "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

• "Worrisome Heart" (2008) • "Goodnite" (2008) • "Quiet Fire" (2008) • "Who Will Comfort Me" (2009) • "Baby I'm a Fool" (2009) • "If the Stars Were Mine" (2009) • "Your Heart Is as Black as Night" (2011) • "Mira" (2012) • "Amalia" (2012) • "La Vie en Rose" (2012) • "Same to You" (2015) • "Preacherman" (2015) • "It Gonna Come" (2016) • "From Paris with Love" (2020) • "Little Something" (featuring Sting) (2020) • "Sunset in the Blue" (2020) • "C'est Magnifique" (featuring Antonio Zambujo) (2020)

Gardot appears on the following songs, on vocals and occasionally piano or guitar, by other artists: • Beaucoup Blue – "Bluer Than a Midnight Sky" on Free to Fall • Till Brönner – "High Night (Alta Noite)" on Rio (2008) • Charlie Haden Quartet West – "If I'm Lucky" on Sophisticated Ladies (2010) • Seth Kallen & The Reaction – "My Sweet Darling" on Exhibit A • Phil Roy – "A Meditation on War and the Fight for Love" on The Great Longing • Eddy Mitchell – "Derrière L'arc-En-Ciel / Over the Rainbow" on Grand Ecran • Juliette Gréco – "Sous Les Ponts de Paris (Under the Bridges of Paris)" on Ça Se Traverse et C'est Beau (Feb 2012) • Jesse Harris – "Tant Pis" on Sub Rosa (July 2012) • Baptiste Trotignon – "Mon Fantôme" on Song Song Song (Sep 2012) • Lizanne Knott – "There Are Angels" on Marionette (Sep 2012, UK release) • Federico Aubele – "Somewhere Else" on 5 (2013) • Pierre Aderne – "Limoeiro" and "Melodia e Letra" on Caboclo (2014) • Vinicius Cantuária – "Insensatez" on Vinicius Canta Antonio Carlos Jobim (2015) • "He's a Tramp" and "The Bare Necessities" on Jazz Loves Disney (2016) • "C'est Trop Tard" on Elles & Barbara (2017) • "The King of 52nd Street" on The Passion of Charlie Parker (2017) • "La Chanson Des Vieux Amants" on Brel – Ces Gens-Lá (2019) • "La Javanaise" on Les Pianos de Gainsbourg by André Manoukian (2021) • "Waiting", "Rio Negro", "How Long", and "Surpresa" on Surpresa by Jesse Harris & Vincicius Cantuaria (2021) • "Misty" on Night Blooms by Jeff Goldblum (2026)

Melody Gardot was born on 2 February 1985 in New Jersey. Gardot held the nationality of United States. Gardot was educated at Community College of Philadelphia. Gardot worked as singer-songwriter, jazz musician, singer and composer, and the authority record catalogues a further 4 occupations under the same name, among them pianist, recording artist, jazz singer and musician. Gardot was active from 2004. The fields Gardot worked in include pop music and jazz. Gardot played the piano, the voice and the guitar. Gardot worked in English and French.