Just like the painter Frida Kahlo, after her terrible accident in a bus. Since then, Gardot has released five studio albums filled with a hybrid jazz that mixes borrowings from fado, bossa nova and gospel. And in the blues of her voice there's something of Dusty Springfield or Norah Jones. A saudade that tightens the chest.
She reminds us of Lauren Bacall. Or Kathleen Turner. Her new album showcases live recordings, a double disc for which she listened to over concerts in search of the magic moments. A spellbinding and sensual album in which Gardot redraws her repertoire with her everso-slightly veiled voice.
All that in the venerable ambiance of old European concert halls whose souls she swears she can feel. Sound is a vibration. Vibration is energy. And when she sings in Vienna or Warsaw, she can feel the breath of her Austrian and Polish ancestors on the back of her neck. Just deliciously eccentric. For a moment, I went over to the other side. Since then, I can feel the presence of the departed.
Because of accident-induced autonomic nervous system dysfunction, she is acutely sensitive to noise and sound and generally wears dark glasses. And yet, this week she released that second album, building on the promise of her debut in ways that transcend cheap talk of "miracle recoveries" and "brave fights". There's enough here to suggest a life in music is assured for a woman who, before the accident, had never considered music beyond part-time jobs playing in piano bars to help pay college fees.
But if music is her life from now, Gardot is quick to point out that the life is only available because of music. Among her many other impairments, Gardot had aphasia, which meant she was unable to formulate words - she could think of the words but not make the sounds emerge from her mouth despite having no physical barrier to speech. It's a condition often seen in soldiers returning from Iraq with head injuries but also in sufferers of Alzheimer's disease.
Until two years ago Gardot could speak only with great difficulty. What took Gardot even to that point two years ago was her doctor's recommendation she use music as therapy. Not just as soothing background noise but as a practical method of rebuilding the pathways in her brain once some functions had returned.
The accident had knocked out the neural pathways, which could be called bridges, between the brain's two cortexes. These convey knowledge, memory, perception and higher functions. It was impossible. There was no communication. One is outside stimulation through rehabilitation, the other co-operation of the patient. In this respect, Melody was a model patient. Now, confined to her bed but able to hold a guitar, she composed her own songs and taught herself to sing.
Listening to Stan Getz, she gravitated towards bossa nova rhythms. She has also switched to a macrobiotic diet, claiming a 30 per cent reduction in pain. Dr Sharma is unconvinced. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
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