Melody Gardot – Sunset in the Blue (2LPs, Universal)

It’s been five years since Melody Gardot bluntly brought up socio-political issues on her fourth studio album “Currency Of Man” (2015) with surprisingly rough, groovy songs. STERN hailed the album as a “milestone in pop” and the NEW YORK TIMES on the other side of the Atlantic as a “creative milestone that crosses the boundaries between jazz, blues and R&B to make a stirring social and musical statement”. Where can an artist with such laurels go after that? Melody Gardot has gone to the core and deep into the soul of her art. The songs on Sunset In The Blue don’t scream for attention, but they are still, or perhaps because of that, some of the nicest things that have been heard in the music business lately. Like a fairy, Gardot seems to buzz around our heads and whisper her melodies in our ears. The fact that she is accompanied by an elite of top international musicians, including legends such as Anthony Wilson (guitar), Chuck Berghofer (bass), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums) and Paulinho Da Costa (percussion), undoubtedly contributes to the high quality of the recordings, but it can Almost lost in the intoxication of hearing, the masters play so gently and sensitively here. The songs are played around like a breeze by the equally unusual Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which Vince Mendoza ((Bjork, Robbie Williams, Elvis Costello) arranged. Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock) once again produced the album, Al Schmitt (Frank Sinatra, Joao Gilberto, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney) is responsible for the exquisite recording.