Madeleine Peyroux

With her dusky, lyrical style and affinity for reinterpreting classic jazz, blues, and folk standards, vocalist Madeleine Peyroux is a highly acclaimed, internationally recognized artist. Emerging in her teens as a street-busking performer in Paris' Latin Quarter in the 1980s, Peyroux drew favorable comparisons to legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday, and eventually caught the attention of the record industry. Her debut album, 1996's Dreamland, featured a bevy of noted jazz artists and drew accolades for her distinctive take on blues and jazz standards. Her Larry Klein-produced follow-ups, 2004's Careless Love and 2006's Half the Perfect World, fared even better, charting on the Billboard 200 and achieving gold status. Overwhelmed by her initial success, Peyroux has continued to cut a low-key, if no less lauded, career path. Though her intimate sound certainly owes a debt to Holiday, she has continued to evolve, carving out her own stylistic niche that balances a modern sensibility with a respect for older vocal traditions.