My Films /

Somethin’ Grand

Documentary tracing the childhood and career of Madeleine Peyroux, whose solo albums have steadily established her as a compelling if elusive chanteuse. Peyroux is an American of French descent whose subtle phrasing harks back to classic queens of heartache like Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf and Patsy Cline, all of whom she has been known to cover.

She spent her early years in Brooklyn before moving to Paris with her mother when her parents divorced. As a teenager she found herself busking. Now, at 35, she has recorded four solo albums including 2004′s million-selling Careless Love. This film traces her life and her slow but steady emergence as a songwriter with her latest album, Bare Bones. Featuring interviews with Madeleine’s mother, long time producer Larry Klein, the man who found her Yves Beauvais, co-writer David Batteau, voice coach Joan Lader, musician and friend Danny Fitzgerald and Wall Street Journal writer Christopher J Farley.

DIRECTOR