Ray Charles lives on as Madeleine Peyroux collaborates with legendary producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock) to revisit one of his most controversial albums, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. But the upcoming singer-songwriter isn’t only rediscovering Charles, she’s also after Randy Newman and Leonard Cohen, to name a few. The Blue Room, set to be released March 5th, is a sophisticated cover album, showcasing the power of Madeleine’s voice as she covers songs from prominent musicians by “using imagination to break down musical categories and barriers”.

Madeleine and Klein try to represent the artistic freedom that Ray showed on the record when he blended R&B, Gospel, Country and Jazz music. “I didn’t want to just do a straight forward covers album,” says Madeleine. “When Larry first brought this project to me, I was so moved by what I heard that it truly inspired me to both reinterpret these songs while also merging them with others that I thought fit perfectly.” Along with Ray Charles, she also covers Randy Newman’s “Guilty,” Warren Zevons’s “Desperadoes Under The Eaves” and John Hartford’s “Gentle On My Wind,”.

Madeleine has released her first single and music video of the Buddy Holly song “Changing All Those Changes”. Check out the video below:

Madeleine Peyroux is kicking off her tour March 20th in New York City with two nights at Lincoln Center. She is also making a Midwest run including a night in Chicago at the Old Town School of Folk Music on April 5th. Stay tuned as she announces more tour dates!

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