Ravinia 2023 Issue 1

Regardless of formal education, Gardot has a gift on the keys—and, just as significantly, the self-confi- dence to hustle. That’s how she began playing in pubs when she was just 16. She recounted the dawning of her career to London-based Blues & Soul magazine, in an interview a decade- and-a-half ago: “It all started when I first got my driving license,” she said. “I was taking my first drive into Philly with a friend, but I’d forgotten to fill up the gas tank and I didn’t have any money in my wallet. So I parked the car, and we started walking down South Street to see how we could make some bucks. “In the distance, there was this place called The Piano Bar. I walked in the door and, when I noticed there was a piano in the back of the restau- rant, I asked the woman there about it; she asked if I played. When I said yes, she was like, ‘Our piano player quit a half-hour ago. Would you like to audition?’ “So I played. After about 45 min- utes, the woman got the manager, who was like, ‘That sounded pretty good. Why don’t you come back next week? I’ll pay you $100 for four hours, and if the people like it, you can do it every week!’ I was like, ‘Well, that’s cool. But I just played for 45 minutes. Can I get 20 bucks?’ ” The manager laughed, then coughed up the dough. Gardot had her first paying gig—and enough gas to get home. “From that point on, I started playing piano all over the city,” she recalled. “It was great. I could play anything fromThe Mamas & The Papas to Duke Ellington to Janis Jop- lin. I couldn’t believe it; I was getting paid to basically goof off, having this opportunity to just be a young person wandering around the city and performing.” Despite that early success, she hadn’t yet realized she’d found her vocation: “It was never anything I considered doing professionally, long- term. It was just a hobby I loved.” As the saying famously goes: Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. She was 19 years old, studying fashion at a community college, when an accident shattered everything. While riding her bike, Gardot was struck by a Jeep whose renegade driver ran a red light. She suffered severe head trauma, along with a broken pelvis and damaged spine. Bed-ridden for 11 months, she eventually had to learn to walk again and to adjust to neural damage, including memory loss and sensitivity to light and sound. That doesn’t sound like a likely path to becoming a jazz superstar, but music played a key role in her years-long recovery. Upon learning of her affinity for playing and singing, a doctor encouraged music therapy as a key piece of her convalescence. She ended up writing a few songs that she released, two years after the accident, on a self-produced EP, Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions . To her great surprise, some of those tracks got air time on a Philly radio station, and the rest is history. “I do identify with the disability community, as I’ve had to overcome numerous physical challenges and injury in my life,” Gardot tells Ravinia in a recent interview. “It was a long journey to here. However, all of my experiences have helped me to grow as a person. Later, by sharing parts of this journey, I’ve been able to educate and inspire others, and that’s some- thing I’m honored to be able to do.” Today, approaching two decades since that calamitous event, her life has evolved in ways that young Melo- dy couldn’t have predicted. A Ro- mance-language polyglot who speaks and understands French, Spanish, and Portuguese, Gardot has traveled the world and lived in countries on three continents. Nothing like immersion for picking up a new tongue! And, she notes, “I’m soon adding Italian to the list.” In addition to soaking up other languages and lifestyles, her time spent in Brazil, Portugal, and France birthed several musical projects. “I’ve always had a sense of wanderlust and a desire to explore new places,” she says. “But my stints in these places have also been invaluable in terms of pursuing my career, learning about other cultures, and for my own per- sonal growth.” No surprise, then, that her sixth and most recent studio release, 2022’s Entre eux deux , was recorded in Paris. The title, loosely translated as “between us two,” directly refers to Gardot and her collaborator, pianist/ composer Philippe Powell—a first for Gardot, who previously had never recorded an entire project as part of a duo. The title can also be interpreted as a reference to the album’s intoxicating mix of languages and musical styles. The 10 tracks feature six original com- positions; for the older songs, which are mostly French standards, Gardot and Powell contribute new music and lyrics. Meanwhile, you can hear a transatlantic heritage in “Samba em Preludio,” their reinterpretation of a bossa nova groove written 60 years ago by Powell’s father, Brazilian com- poser/guitarist Baden Powell. Entre eux deux also represents a significant departure from Gar- dot’s previous albums in other ways. Earlier recordings feature her vocals and piano but include a variety of “ My stints in these places have been invaluable in pursuing my career, learning about other cultures, and for my own personal growth. ” RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 89