Melody Gardot to Perform ‘White Jazz’ in Black Glasses at the Olympia

Melody Gardot. VALERY HACHE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Melody Gardot. VALERY HACHE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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Melody Gardot to Perform ‘White Jazz’ in Black Glasses at the Olympia

Melody Gardot. VALERY HACHE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Melody Gardot. VALERY HACHE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

It is not easy to welcome a young artist who has not yet achieved an international fame at the Olympia, Paris. Next month, Jazz fans will have the chance to attend two concerts for Melody Gardot, who, two years ago, performed on less prestigious theaters in the French capital, where she created a wide circle of fans around her. Perhaps this explains why her concerts’ tickets have been sold out once they were put on sale.

As jazz has been associated with strong voices of black singers, Melody's "humming" sets her in what might be called the white jazz. However, the New Jersey-born singer does not hum intentionally, but because she had an accident that deprived her for years from the ability to concentrate and speak.

In 2003, Melody was a young teenager riding her bike when she was hit by a car that caused her a concussion and kept her in the hospital for a year. Gardot affirms that music therapy has been effective in her recovery. And because the fractures in her back prevented her from sitting steadily in the hospital bed, her mother brought her a guitar so she can support her back and play on it. Since she was a piano player, she used the guitar’s strings like keys before she learned to play them correctly. In the injury bed, she composed her first songs and then tried to market them in a CD entitled "Some Lessons". Since then, Melody has moved forward with ambition and desire to compensate what she missed, without finding the courage to reveal her eyes. She keeps them hidden behind black glasses.

She debuted her journey singing in Philadelphia clubs, and local radio stations began to broadcast her songs, which encouraged her to release a CD entitled "Worrisome Heart." At first she mixed Jazz and Country Music, and then performed the songs of Billy Holiday, Judy Garland and Bessie Smith, which draw the attention of producer Larry Klein, who produced her second CD "My One and Only Thrill ". The album included the song “Who Will Comfort Me" which saw a great success and marked a place on the top 10 songs list.

Two years ago, Melody visited Paris and fell in love with the city so she decided to settle there. Standing on the "Olympia" theater remained her dream until she finally fulfilled it. In an interview with a French television, the American singer spoke in fluent French and explained what caused the bike accident and its impact on her speech capacities. It was a happy disability, that in some ways, made her sing with a throaty humming that has become her special voice print and the key to her success.

Melody didn’t only perform in Paris, but, she toured the cities of Marseille, Toulouse, Lyon, Nice, Strasbourg and Orleans. Today, when she wanders through the flower market, in the center of the capital, and buys her daily bread, she looks like any Parisian girl from the city, who loves the hidden and mysterious look behind the black glasses.



Milan’s Historic La Scala Cracks Down on Tourist Dress Code

Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
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Milan’s Historic La Scala Cracks Down on Tourist Dress Code

Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)

A historic opera house in Milan has cracked down on patrons and tourists entering the prestigious venue wearing summer attire such as shorts, tank tops and flip flops, warning they will be turned away if not dressed appropriately.

The opera was seen as a symbol of wealth and exclusivity in 19th-century high society, and the bourgeois elite of this time period would have been expected to turn up in tailcoats, cravats and long evening dresses, The Independent newspaper wrote on Monday.

While this opulent attire is not expected of patrons nowadays, it said Milan’s Teatro alla Scala opera house, commonly known as La Scala, has recently reinforced its smart dress code in the wake of opera-goers turning up in casual summer fashion.

“The public is kindly requested to dress in keeping with the decorum of the theater, out of respect for the theater and for other viewers,” La Scala’s policy said.

“People wearing shorts or sleeveless T-shirts will not be allowed inside the auditorium; in this case, tickets will not be reimbursed.”

The venue also has signs around the foyer and on tickets stating the same message, warning patrons that they will not get a refund if they turn up wearing clothes not in keeping with the “decorum.”

The rules over informal clothing were first introduced in 2015 when the summer season coincided with the World Expo in Milan, as a way to deter the influx of tourists turning up in summer wear.

“There are no special dress code requirements at La Scala,” a spokesperson at the theater told The Independent. “We are delighted that some of our audience members consider an evening at La Scala to be a special occasion and dress accordingly, but our priority is to welcome everyone and make sure they feel comfortable.

“This is precisely why, in 2015, we introduced restrictions on clothing that could cause discomfort to other audience members who have to share the often limited space of an 18th-century theater.

“With the return of summer (an especially hot one), we reminded the audience of these rules, which have remained unchanged for ten years.

“It would not be right to tell spectators how to dress, but it is necessary that they do dress, as not to cause discomfort to other people,” the spokesperson added.

La Scala’s spokesman added that there had been a “change in behavior led by visitors who do not follow opera but see La Scala as a landmark.”