24 | November 21, 2013 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News

MadeleinePeyroux:

“I didn’t likebeing arrested

in New YorkCity, that was

not fun.”

ASlanguorouson the

phone as she is onrecord, it feels asthough we oughtto be drinkingtoo much redwine and chainsmoking in acandlelit boothin a seedy barunder a railwaytrack, circa 1963.That’s just

the kind of voiceAmerican jazz singer,songwriter andguitarist MadeleinePeyroux has.

Instead, we’redivided by aphone line andthe AtlanticOcean. And forPeyroux it’sbreakfasttime, soredwine

might not be the best idea.The 39-year-old is readying

herself for a string of dates on herlatest tour with new album TheBlue Room, and is set to stop atCambridge Corn Exchange thismonth.The album itself began as a tribute

to Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds inCountry and Western Music, a recordPeyroux grew up listening to: “It’sa record that I think breaks a lotof ground,” she murmurs. “Musicindustry people have been awareof that for a long time but I don’tknow that people in social historycontexts are aware of how importantthat record was in the United States[when it was released]”.However, after working on covers

such as Bye Bye Love and the heart-breaking Born to Lose, she decidedto expand her version to includenewer pieces by the likes of LeonardCohen,Warren Zevon and RandyNewman (“We picked songs thatwere really part of [Ray’s] spirit.”)This time around though she

didn’t feel up to writing her ownsongs to nestle in among the greats:“I don’t believe that I had the. . .” shefalters. “It’s very inspiring but no, I’drather not write for a record that isgoing to be that important. I think atleast for now.”

Her long-time producer LarryKlein described the album as‘cheerful on the surface’ with a‘dark undercurrent’. “I wouldgo the opposite way,” Peyrouxlaughs. “I would say it’s darkall the way through and it’sreally joyful at the bottom.” Thatsounds more like it.With five previous albums to

her name (including the winsomedebut Dreamland and follow-upCareless Love, which really madeher name in the world of jazz), NewYork-born Peyroux’s career had arather romantic start.

Although, maybe it just soundsromantic: busking in Paris as ateenager just does, doesn’t it? It’snot exactly the same as a grubbypavement spot outside DorothyPerkins on Petty Cury. . .Was it a thrilling way to live?

“Busking is a way to learn forme, you know, andmoney, that’sthrilling, I could tell you that much,”she barks with a raspy laugh. “Goingfrom nought to 30 francs or 50 francsor 100 francs, that was thrilling, butit was more scary.“It was thrilling to start by myself

with a little guitar; walk up to a groupof people seated at a café in Paris,”she admits. “I was so nervous Iwasn’t going to pass the hat, a friendof mine did it for me a few times andthen I got better, and then I startedjust passing the hat because that wasactually the most difficult part.”It must have been strange being

hurled from small, scatteredaudiences on sidewalks to venuesthrobbing with fans, but Peyroux

Music

� Madeleine Peyroux, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Saturday, November 23 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £25 (plusbooking fee) from cornex.co.uk or (01223) 357851.

As the American jazz sensation bringsher latest tour to Cambridge CornExchange, she tells Ella Walker aboutdarkness and joy, the thrill of busking

and meeting her heroes.

Cambridge News | cambridge-news.co.uk | November 21, 2013 | 25

didn’t find the development toodisconcerting. “No matter where youare you can be removed from youraudience, you can be on a stage andhave the fourth wall there, whateverit is, wherever you are. But whereveryou are I think you can create astage, in your mind, in everyone’smind.

“I liked [busking] very much, Iliked it when it was nice, I liked itwhen we had good acoustics, I didn’tlike it when we were not allowed tocarry our instruments around Parisanymore, they changed the laws.And I didn’t like being arrested inNew York City, that was not fun,” shesays, making it sound like rather a lotof fun indeed. “I think it’s a shamebecause really the bottom line is thatreal busking is a fabulous – can be –a fabulous way to live. And it can begreat for everybody else. I love it – Istill love it.”

She adds hurriedly: “I mean I loveseeing people doing it, I haven’t beenbusking myself for a while.”

Typically humble, whether itcomes to her songwriting abilities orher stamina for life on the road, youget the sense Peyroux is rather fragileunderneath that voice; her vocalspinpoint the strange bite between

jaunty and haunting.She slurs and drawls her words

and stumbles frequently in heranswers, and much is made of the

fact she was known for disappearingfrom the spotlight for clutches ofmonths at a time (on one memorableoccasion, her record company hadto hire a private detective to trackher down). “I think it was a bit oddwhen everything happened becauseit caused me a lot of trouble,” sheacknowledges, referencing thefallout that would occur with herducks from fame. “But I know whoI am, I don’t think there’s a lot ofissues. It’s not very difficult for meto talk to you for example, as youcan see, I’m blah blah blah blah, soI’m ok with it, I‘m very friendly withpeople and stuff like that, and I don’thave any grandiose issues aboutbeing a recluse.”

And she is chatty, even if thechat is a bit fragmented. On herinfluences and heroes however,there is no hesitation, even thoughoutside of that, much of her life is amystery.

“Well it’s both,” she says, onwhether it’s flattering or a burdento be compared to one of heridols, Billie Holiday. “It’s a greatcompliment that I really shouldn’t bedeserving of, and that’s the bottomline.”

And her proudest moment career-wise so far? “Oh gosh, singing with[singer and civil rights activist]Odetta Holmes.”

The pair performed together onseveral occasions before Holmes’death in 2008 – just a few monthsshort of Obama’s inauguration whichshe was booked to sing at.

“She conducted me in a way asinger would, in other words sheshowed emotion and she raisedher hands up and she got excited,and for me that was a mindblowingexperience,” Peyroux buzzes. “Shewas so generous as a human being,so incredible; from that moment onI wanted to be around her more andmore.”

They had plans to get in the studiotogether but, “we never did becauseshe was getting on and I suppose it’smy fault that never happened.”

Peyroux spends most of her timelooking forward though, and nextyear she has quite a few new projectslined up, including one that’s goingto be ‘very experimental’. “I don’teven have much more I can tell you,”she explains, hinting: “The sound ofit will be completely different, usingonly two musicians and myself, butwe’ll bring a lot of toys with us onstage, so it’ll be very, very different.”

And then she may disappear onceagain, but this time to write.

BUSKING AND ALLTHAT JAZZ: Frommodest beginningsas a busker in Paris,Peyroux is set toembark on a tourshowcasing herlatest album, TheBlue Room, whichfeatures covers ofartists including RayCharles

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