Absence brings out the best in Gardot's voice

Melody Gardot's voice wanders between vulnerability and seductiveness, though she never really takes side. In her third studio album, The Absence, which will be released in China soon, the Grammy-nominated American jazz singer makes the best use of her voice and immersed in the cultures of Portugal, Argentina and Brazil, where she visited in a protracted journey of musical discovery.

The 27-year-old also lends her voice to Edith Piaf's iconic La Vie en Rose, a song that holds a special place in her mind and imagination. It's an inspiring song, just like her connection with her guitar, when Gardot, a fashion student in Philadelphia then, turned to music as therapy as she recovered from a traffic accident that damaged her brain and fractured her pelvis and spine.

- Chen Nan