In her publicity photos, 23-year-old singer-songwriter Melody Gardot is usually seen wearing a pair of dark sunglasses that one initially assumes are a part of a well-cultivated look. In fact, Gardot wears the glasses because of injuries she suffered when she was struck by a car while bicycling home in her native Philadelphia. Prior to the accident, Gardot worked part-time as a cocktail pianist while studying at Moore College of Art & Design. While in recovery, her physician suggested she resume playing as part of her cognitive therapy.

The songs she wrote ended up on an independent EP, and this year marks the release of her debut full-length album, Worrisome Heart. This week, this inspirational artist comes to D.C. for a series of free performances. VSA Arts, an affiliate of the Kennedy Center, is producing the concerts as part of its 2007 Start with the Arts Family Festival. The non-profit organization's mission is to promote disabled artists and facilitate access to the arts among people with disabilities.

Gardot's music follows the path of Norah Jones in that her compositions are firmly in the torch song tradition with folk, jazz, country, and blues influences. Her voice draws comparisons to that of Jones because of its smokey alto that is expressive, soulful, and seductive. Her delivery depends more on phrasing and pure emotion than it does on vocal acrobatics, although she does on occassion employ a tight vibrato, a la Fiona Apple, to achieve a different timbre. Her band employs a no-frills approach to the arrangements that places a strong emphasis on the lyric and melody. The playing is subdued in terms of volume and note activity, but it retains a quiet intensity. Gardot's lyrics are, for the most part, introspective in nature with love, loss, and heartache as central themes.

Photo taken from Melody Gardot's MySpace page

The album, Worrisome Heart, is a solid effort from a young artist. Co-produced by Gardot and Glenn Barratt, the album is beautifully recorded and is not encumbered by excessive studio trickery, thus giving the songs the intimate and live feel of a smokey jazz club. Stand out tracks include the playful swing of "All That I Need is Love," which is the album's most upbeat moment. The title track is a bluesy number that features some tasty piano and trumpet playing. "Love Me Like a River Does" is a yearning song that showcases Gardot's expressiveness as a vocalist. If the album has a flaw, it is that there is not a lot of variation in tempo and mood, despite the varied texture of the material. The songs tend to blend into one another in such a way that listening to the entire album in one sitting becomes difficult and the the songs are reduced to background music. Gardot might look to artists such as Eva Cassidy, who, on her classic Live at Blues Alley, would draw the listener into the more somber material by punctuating the set with an uptempo number.

The fact that Gardot is only 23 years old is both her biggest asset and her greatest liability. Right now, she still sounds like a collection of influences and needs to develop her own voice. Her songs of pain and suffering lack a certain level of authenticity because her voice does not have the world weary quality of, say, a Billie Holiday or Patsy Cline. Gardot has no doubt been through a lot, but her voice lacks the depth that can only come with experience and time -- but such formidable talent will only grow as she continues to write and perform. We recommend catching one of her free performances this week as they will each be a portrait of this promising young storyteller in her formative years.

Melody Gardot will be performing on June 5 at 6 p.m. on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage, June 7 at noon and 1 p.m. at Farragut Square, June 8 at 6 p.m.and June 9 at 3 p.m. at Columbus Circle outside of Union Station.