April 15-21, 2004

musicpicks

Madeleine Peyroux

jazz

Just when it seemed Madeleine Peyroux was settling in to that dreaded "whatever happened to?" category, she's back in a big way, making an appearance at SXSW in Austin, Texas, last month and landing Larry Klein to produce her upcoming record on Rounder.

Fans will tell you it's about time: The Georgia-born Peyroux's first (and only) full-length album, Dreamland, came out in '96 -- and she's languished in semi-obscurity ever since, despite the feverish comparisons to Billie Holiday for her smoke-and-whiskey vocals. It's not clear why her star-is-born career trajectory took a dive, but in the days before Norah Jones, Peyroux's retro stylings didn't make much of a dent on the charts, despite the 200,000 copies sold.

The talented and press-shy 31-year-old has re-emerged slowly, spending many nights gracing the Tin Angel stage, often with guitarist and harmonica player William Galison at her side. (Last year, the two recorded an indie release, Got You on My Mind, now apparently stuck in limbo because of the Rounder deal). Onstage, Peyroux never fails to charm, whether taking Josephine Baker's "J'ai Deux Amours" to new heights or putting a jazz spin on Elliot Smith's heartbreaking "Between the Bars."

Sat., April 17, 7 and 10 p.m., $20, with Phil Roy, Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0770.

—Nicole Pensiero

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