The Problem with Categories: Madeleine Peyroux

Probably no one personifies the difficulties in trying to categorize music more than Madeleine Peyroux (pronounced like the country).  Her voice has been compared to Billie Holiday.  She co-wrote most of the songs on her latest album, but she has covered songs written or popularized by everyone from Hank Williams to Frank Sinatra to Leonard Cohen to Bessie Smith and covered Edith Piaff in French.  She is profiled on AllAboutJazz.com, but records for a label mostly known for bluegrass and "roots" music.  She's even been know to sport a top hat.

Peyroux's background is as varied as her music. Born in Athens, GA, she spent her early years in Brooklyn, Southern California, & Paris.  Her music career began on the streets of the French capital, and she later toured Europe with the Lost Wandering Blues & Jazz Band.  

Her debut album, Dreamland, released in the U.S. in 1996 sold an impressive 200,000 copies and was received with critical acclaim as well.  In the wake of the success of Dreamland, Peyroux was in great demand on the festival circuit and as an opening act for some big-name artists.  Rather than rushing back into the recording studio, however, she waited until 2004 to release her next album, Careless Love.  In subsequent years, she has released two more albums for Rounder Records, Half the Perfect World and Bare Bones.  All three of these Rounder albums were produced by veteran Larry Klein, perhaps best known as Joni Mitchell's producer and ex-husband.  Although Peyroux's music is difficult to pigeonhole, one thing for certain is that she is a song stylist; she applies her own unique stamp to all her songs, even ones that have been recorded many times before.  One of my favorite songs on Careless Love is Hank Williams' "Weary Blues."  She changes the phrasing, slows down the tempo, and gives the song a "bluesier" feel.  If you heard the two versions and didn't pay attention to the lyrics, you might not recognize them as the same songs.





This next video is an old one, featuring Madeleine covering Billie Holiday in her street musician days with the Lost Wandering Blues & Jazz Band.  The song appears in a little more polished version on Dreamland.