When I listened to Madeleine Peyroux's debut record, Dreamland, on Atlantic Records, I got the definite impression of the fragile jazz singer who lives (barely) to sing, finding the rest of life such a burden. Reading her press with the constant comparisons to Billie Holiday, I had my suspicions confirmed. But when I actually talked to her, I realized I had been sold a bill of goods. Madeleine Peyroux is actually a no-nonsense kind of gal with a husky voice who has put in plenty of road time. And as any female singer can tell you, traveling with male musicians is much like traveling with a basketball team.

This is her story: Born in Athens Georgia then living between Brooklyn and Paris, she began performing on the streets of Paris at age fifteen. When she was 16 she had an impromptu audition for the Lost and Wandering Blues and Jazz Band. The leader came up to her and said "Okay sing a song for me right now". She sang Jeepers Creepers and that was the start of her stint touring Europe with the band. With them she performed numbers by Fats Waller, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald among others. I asked her what it was like being the only woman stuck with a bunch of guys? Was there a boys' club feeling or was she one of the boys? MP: It's not easy being a girl on the road with guys, I mean if you want to go to the bathroom you have to really hide and you sleep in the room with them and... but I mean it could be alot worse, I mean they weren't mean or anything. They were all nice guys and they wouldn't take advantage of me. I was in situations worse than that to get taken advantage of, but I mean, not with the band. I guess it means I'm a little more used to the way guys do their thing. (Laughs)

Next I asked if she felt female singers get respect from male musicians. MP: Well I wouldn't want to make it a personal statement... DL: Go ahead, make it a personal statement.

MP: It's a known joke that instrumentalists say things about singers, but that's old hat. I think that some people are very critical of singers because they think it's alot easier, but there are also quite a few instrumentalists that can't sing. I feel very strongly about demanding respect and I also feel strongly about giving that same respect to the musicians I play with... I mean musicians don't get to play what they want. Very often they're told to play this or play that so I think it has to be a mutual thing. Madeleine Peyroux shows that respect when she talks about the people who played and produced this record. It is rife with excellent players who contribute to its wonderful old time sound. The record is produced by Yves Beauvais and bassist/arranger Greg Cohen (Tom Waits' collaborator for nearly 20 years, Lou Reed, John Zorn, Woody Allen). Also included are Marc Ribot, on guitar, James Carter on sax, Vernon Reid, Cyrus Chesnut and many others. Of course the point of all this is " The Voice." When I first heard Madeleine's voice my jaw dropped. How could a 22-year old white girl sound like this? It's really eerie. She sounds so much like Billie Holliday that it's scary. Her voice is so mature, her phrasing is impeccable, it is a phenomenon and it must be heard to be believed. The record consists mostly of cover songs but contains three strong originals. Madeleine does a wonderful version of the Patsy Cline classic Walking After Midnight[ aif |. The arrangement is brilliant in it's simplicity. It is mostly just bass, guitar and a pokey hop-a-long percussion part that gives the tune an old time western feeling. I asked Madeleine if she had to change her singing style to sing different kinds of music. MP: Well not really except when it comes to French singing (Ms. Peyroux does a version of Edith Piaf's, La Vie en Rose)[ aif | which is very difficult for me. It's a totally different type of thing, because when you are doing French you are using a language that doesn't have anything to do with intonation. It's all monotone and drone so that every word has to have a whole lot of passion put into it. I speak it fluently so I try to look at it from a fluent speaker's point of view. I try to take the song in context so it can become something that can be understood by anybody who understands French. I think the most important thing is that people understand what I am saying and that I'm articulate. Other than that I don't think there should be any difference as long I'm getting the message across. That she does, especially on songs like (Getting Some) Fun Out of Life[ aif |, a Billie Holiday standard. This is done with such grace and restraint and emotional connection you would swear she is channeling Lady Day herself. The thing about it is Madeleine Peyroux doesn't sound like she is imitating Billie Holiday, she sounds like Billie Holiday -- but with enough of her own style to make it her own. She also gets the most out of two Bessie Smith blues songs, Reckless Blues[ aif | and Lovesick Blues[ aif |. Bessie Smith is another of Madeleine's idols and she does these blues numbers the way they are supposed to be done. The thing that amazes about this record is that it seems like it could have been recorded in the thirties. It captures the spirit of the music of that time without imitating in a fake way. It's the spirit of the players, the arrangements and, of course, the singer converging to create something that sounds new yet old at the same time. I realize that sounds vague, but if you listen to the record I think you will understand what I mean. Dreamland includes three original compositions that are, surprisingly, not infused with the same angst as some of the covers on the record. The first, Hey Sweet Man[ aif |, harks back to the old time blues style; if you didn't know Peyroux wrote it, you would swear it was a Bessie Smith song. The other songs, Always a Use[ aif |, and the title track, Dreamland[ aif |, are more in a folk vein but still solid compositions. I will be interested in listening to her next album to see if she includes more of her own music. Madeleine plans to be on the road for a while so you should look out for her in your local music paper. She is a unique talent and has the kind of voice that comes along only rarely. When you consider she is only 22, it is kind of scary how much potential she has (if the recording industry can only figure out what niche to put her in). I asked Madeleine what was the best and worst thing about being on the road: MP: The best thing is that you get to travel and the worst thing is that you don't get to stay very long.