Music Monday: Miss Melody

I've still got jazz on the docket. I'm still trying to put myself into an autumn mood. It became a little easier in Hong Kong, where the temperatures actually dipped at night and required a sweater (gasp!). But now I'm back in Singapore, and despite the clouds and the rain it's still 30 degrees during the day, and a balmy 25 at night.

So the jazz continues!

Some of you might have watched that short clip I made of a rainstorm in Singapore. The backing track is sung by Melody Gardot, a jazz singer I've fallen head over heels for. Ergo it makes complete sense that she make an appearance on Music Monday!

I've selected one of the songs off of her most recent album, My One and Only Thrill, called "Your Heart is as Black as Night." While not my favourite from the album in terms of her vocals, it contains my favourite instrumental segment. This one has a saxophone solo. I've posted a live performance video below, and she (and the band) absolutely kills it. I love it.



Oh, and those sunglasses she's wearing in the near-darkness of the venue? Not just a fashion statement. A hit-and-run left her with nerve damage that makes her senses of hearing and sight super-sensitive, which is also why the musical accompaniment is so bare in her songs. The more you know, eh?

the Rain in S'pore

video by me, music by Melody Gardot (c) Verve Records 2009

Fall Ramblings

I miss autumn.

I want to wear pants and sleeves, I want to put on a toque and a jacket, I want to shiver in the line for Tim Hortons coffee or hocho. The lack of a cool season here is leaving me very confused; I've been here more than three months but it still feels like summer. The weather is still warm, the beach still beckons, and the sole jacket I brought (more of a windbreaker, really) sits unused in my modest closet.

I'm trying to cope, though, to trick myself into believing that it really is fall. I've switched out playlists, swapping the club beats, remixes, mashups, and electropop anthems with more fitting musical offerings of jazz, acoustic, and stripped down vocal performances. It's not Music Monday yet, but I'm gonna go ahead and say that this new list heavily features KT Tunstall, Jamie Cullum, Melody Gardot, and Kings of Convenience. Give 'em all a look, although each will likely make an appearance in the MM posts within the next few months.

Despite my longing for autumn months back home, I'm rather disappointed that I have to leave Singapore so soon. I've only got six more weeks here, three of which will be spent travelling. There's just so much I haven't done yet that I want to fit in: the Singapore Flyer, Marina Barrage, Henderson Wave, East Coast Park, Pulau Ubin. And then there's all the travel I want to do as well. Guess I'll have to come back to Southeast Asia in a few years, eh?

images by masochismtango, blmier2, and Blakkos