Madeleine Peyroux(瑪黛琳蓓荷)

近年來崛起流行音樂世界的年輕爵士歌手不少，瑪黛琳．蓓荷本應該是最受矚目的一位。生於美國喬治亞，卻因為父母離異而隨任職法語教師的母親移居法國巴黎，蓓荷自小承受著法國藝術文化與美國鄉村藍調的雙重洗禮，造就她不凡的藝術品味；蓓荷1996年發行了第一張個人專輯"爵士天地（Dreamland）"，舒緩、清柔的演唱風格，加上她近似爵士第一夫人比莉．哈樂黛（Billie Holiday）的純情風格，令爵士樂評家為之驚艷。Time雜志就提出了以下的評論："如同比莉．哈樂黛，蓓荷有著同樣的心碎中音，她極為聰敏的滑過音符與樂段之間，不經意中流瀉深沉的情感..."，這使得她雖有「比莉．哈樂黛接班人」之名，卻完全自成一格，不讓前輩專美於前。 Vocalist Madeleine Peyroux can best be thought of as a Billie Holiday for the 1990s. Like Holiday, Peyroux was marketed as a jazz singer, when what she seems to do best is sing blues music. Though Peyroux may remind some listeners of Holiday, there are differences, and she has her own sense of phrasing and interpretation. Her 1996 Atlantic Records debut, Dreamland, is a brilliant recording, as Peyroux's distinctive voice is not hindered by overly intricate arrangements. Most of the accompaniment on the record is light and sparse, the way it should be for a singer with such a unique voice. Her debut album features a cast of top players from the New York jazz scene, including pianist Cyrus Chestnut, drummer Leon Parker, guitarists Vernon Reid and Marc Ribot, and saxophonist/clarinetist James Carter.