Madeleine Peyroux to Play Boulder Theater, 8/2

Through intensely distinctive renditions of old classics and modern tunes by the likes of Leonard Cohen and The Beatles, Peyroux has proved to be an uncannily insightful

'interpreter' with her consistently impeccable choice of material.

Peyroux's new album, The Blue Room, sees the genre-blending singer reworking some landmark musical gems, in a repeat collaboration with longtime Peyroux producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Walter Becker, Tracy Chapman, Herbie Hancock). The result is a sophisticated album that rather than just 'crossing over', seamlessly fuses musical styles together to create an entirely new sound.

The Blue Room started life as Klein's re-examination of Ray Charles's classic, Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music, but soon moved away from being strictly an homage to that album. "Madeleine and I decided to branch out to other songs we love," explains Klein, so alongside tunes from the original ABC Paramount project such as "Bye Bye Love," "Born To Lose," "You Don't Know Me" and the anthemic "I Can't Stop Loving You" are Randy Newman's "Guilty," Warren Zevon's "Desperadoes Under The Eaves" and John Hartford's "Gentle On My Mind." "Ray's 'cultural landmark' album has always been a part of me," says Larry Klein, "...the project naturally came to mind with Madeleine as a part of it."