Madeleine Peyroux

Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyrouxis an American jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Peyrouxis noted for her vocal style, which has been compared to that of Billie Holiday. Peyroux has cited Holiday, Bessie Smith, Patsy Cline, Édith Piaf, Leonard Cohen, Johnny Mercer, Charlie Chaplin, Serge Gainsbourg and Bob Dylan as influences on her music...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJazz Singer
Date of Birth18 April 1974
CityAthens, GA
CountryUnited States of America
Jazz really does try to include everything. It's always been popular music. But the wonderful thing about jazz is its willingness to take chances.
I could spend my life as an anarchist, but to completely disassociate myself... doesn't solve any of the problems.
When I got to Paris, it was a different world. French radio-another universe from U.S. radio. I found music that could sustain me. I found jazz and other music that I could call mine.
You have to let it all hang out, let go of the ideas that were more comfortable and embrace some of the sadness in your life.
It was great. I got to perform with fantastic musicians. I got to see Nina Simone live. I could've kept running with it, but instead I stepped back and took a breather.
Things changed so quickly. The Atlantic jazz department just went from under us.
It's work. I recognize that it's work, and it can be hard work, so making it a commodity is not so hard to believe.
Anxious record company bosses and her management company have been trying to contact her for nearly a week to no avail. She has simply disappeared.
The wonderful thing about Jazz is its willingness to take chances.
I'm very conscious of developing my singing, technically and stylistically. I want it to become more individual, express more of me. That's my goal. These songs are steps along that way.
I was very lucky. Things happened, both bad and good, but I never got into real, deep trouble. But it wore me down. By the time I was 18, I was done. I didn't want to live the life any more. I needed to develop past the point that busking takes you to.
I listened to Billie Holiday a lot in order to learn to sing. She remains one of the extraordinary jazz singers. But my intent is to become my own voice, to be able to interpret these songs in my own way.
Seeing how those companies operate, it didn't amount to a massive vote of confidence in their artists. There was talk of me going to Columbia after that, but nothing happened. I got disillusioned, and I pulled back.
I was just learning to play guitar when Tracy Chapman came out. She wrote these songs, she played them by herself and I so admired her for that.