The enigmatic Madeleine Peyroux had a packed house eating out of her hand on her debut at Ronnie Scott’s last night. That hand was quivering slightly, it has to be said, for despite years of performing Madeleine still exhibits a barely concealed terror of the spotlight. It’s a frailty that keeps her audiences on edge yet somehow accentuates her artistry and increases her charisma.
Not so much manic-depressive as depressive-depressive, she appeared in black, flashing a solemn smile and holding herself very still at the microphone, yet her bitter-sweet voice came through, the notes bluesy and laid-back on songs of sadness, betrayal and loss. Take These Chains from My Heart, You Don’t Know Me and other items from her current album, Blue Room, come from the 1961 Ray Charles classic, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. But as Madeleine pointed out: “What does modern mean? Today’s retro sounds more modern than modern to me.”
Closer to home were Dance Me to the Edge of Love and other gems from her Paris days, including a chanson sung entirely in French about the pain of a loveless relationship, and a typically desperate Leonard Cohen ditty.
Working attentively behind her was a custom-built octet containing a string quartet and two strong soloists. Keyboarder Jim Beard sounded far more relaxed than on his blistering albums with Pat Metheny, and slick as guitarist Jon Herington was, I’d rather have heard more of Ms Peyroux’s own delicate guitar work. But she threw caution to the winds in her encore, a brisk version of I Hear Music, jazzy enough for any Scott’s regular.
Until Tue Apr 30 (020 7439 0747, ronniescotts.co.uk)
