This 24-track album is a testament to Gardot’s enduring artistry as both a composer and vocalist. Featuring selections from over two decades as a Decca Recording Artist, this special collection (curated by Gardot herself) features a plethora of obvious highlights such as “Baby I’m A Fool”, “Morning Sun” and “C’est Magnifique”, while also shining a light on lesser known live recordings, and two previously unreleased tracks.

The Essential Melody Gardot serves as a rich and compelling portrait of an artist, offering a glimpse into the diverse emotional landscapes Gardot has explored through various languages, textures and arrangements throughout the years.

Artists

Melody Gardot (vocalist, guitar, piano), Ken Pendergast (bassguitar), Charlie Patierno (drumkit, percussion), Bruce Dukov (concertmaster, violin), Gary Foster (concertmaster), Joel Derouin (violin), Darius Campo (violin), Katia Popov (violin), Roberto Cani (violin), Audrey Solomon (violin), Miran Kojian (violin), Liane Mautner (violin), Natalie Leggett (violin), Robin Olson (violin), Kevin Connolly (violin), Samuel Formicola (viola), David Walther (viola), Roland Kato (viola), Alma Fernandez (viola), Cecilia Tsan (cello), Larry Corbett (cello), Christina Soule (cello), Drew Dembowski (doublebass), Nico Abondolo (doublebass), Amy Shulma (harp), Paulinho Da Costa (percussion), António Zambujo (vocalist), Anthony Wilson (guitar), Cliff Masterson (stringsconductor), Dadi Carvalho (guitar), Ian Maclay (stringsdirector), John Leftwich (bass, bassguitar), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (strings, woodwinds), Vinnie Colaiuta (drumkit), Reese Richardson (electricguitar), Chuck Staab (drumkit), Dan Lutz (bassguitar), Pete Korpela (percussion), Gary Grant (trumpet), Dan Higgins (tenorsaxophone, baritonesaxophone, flute, altoflute, clarinet, bassclarinet), Irwin Hall (altosaxophone, saxophone), Andy Martin (trombone), Jerry Hey (hornarranger), David Mowry (dobroguitar), Heitor Pereira (recordingarranger, additionalvocalist, acousticguitar, cavaquinho, drum, percussion, guitar, glockenspiel, banjo), Peter Erskine (drumkit), Martin Tillman (cello), Harry Kim (trumpet), Ramon Flores (trumpet), Andrew Lippman (trombone), Julie Ann Gigante (violin), Tamara Hatwan (violin), Phillip Levy (violin), Serena McKinney (violin), Helen Nightengale (violin), Alyssa Park (violin), Tereza Stanislav (violin), Lisa Sutton (violin), Sarah Thornblade (violin), Roger Wilkie (violin), Brian Dembrow (viola), Andrew Duckles (viola), Marlow Fisher (viola), Matthew Funes (viola), Keith Greene (viola), Darrin McCann (viola), Steve Erdody (cello), Eri Duke- Kirkpatrick (cello), Paula Hochhalter (cello), Dennis Karmazyn (cello), Armen Ksajikian (cello), Andrew T. Shulman (cello), Jo Ann Turovsky (harp), Christian Kollgaard (doublebass), Michael Valerio (doublebass), Bryan Rogers (tenorsaxophone, saxophone), Patrick Hughes (trumpet), Behn Gillece (vibraphone), Irina Voloshina (violin), Jody Rubin (viola), Joel Bryant (hammondb3), Dave Posmontier (piano), matt cappy (trumpet), Ron Kerber (tenorsaxophone, clarinet), Ibrahim Maalouf (trumpet), Sam Minaie (bass, bassguitar), Mitchell Long (guitar), Shareef Clayton (trumpet), Devin Greenwood (percussion), Charles Staab III (drumkit), Stuart Clark (clarinet), Shawn Mann (viola), Jo Ann Turkovsky (harp), Michael Watts (accordion), Gil Goldstein (piano), Jaques Morelenbaum (cello), Charlie Haden (bass), Philippe Powell (piano), Astghik Vardanyan (violin), Astghik Gazhoyan (viola), Artyom Manukyan (cello), Gohar Papoyan (violin), Lewis Wright (vibraphone), Chuck Berghofer (bass), Larry Goldings (hammondorgan, hammondb3, piano), Jim Keltner (drumkit), Doug Webb (saxophone), Vince Mendoza, Nick Glennie-Smith, Timothy Davies