Singer and guitarist Madeleine Peyroux returned to Berlin last night to celebrate the release of her new CD Bare Bones. Berlin's Postbahnhof at Ostbahnhof was pretty packed and obviously full of die-hard fans. Peyroux offered her takes on various new tunes that she wrote for her latest CD which was produced by Larry Klein and features some songwriting credits by Walter Becker. All of the songs on that album were written or co-written by her and she played several of those in her typically intimate, introspective, leisurely, truly relaxing and sometimes quirky style. Most impressive was her solo interpretation of Instead, one of the most accessible and beautiful tracks on the album. Peyroux was wise enough to include some tracks from her three previous CDs although she didn't deliver a song from her very first album Dreamland which made her a sort of mini sensation back in 1996. But it was nice and refreshing to hear Dancing To The End of Love again, for example. She also included a number of French chanson-styled songs which derived from her long stay in Paris before she was finally discovered.

Label mate Till Brönner joined Peyroux on stage for three tracks altogether. Once again, the brilliant trumpeter proved that he's one of the most original and inventive player around. Peyroux joined him for several songs at his own concert a couple of days earlier in Cologne by the way. Solid stuff was coming from her backing band which was more or less cushioning her sound with almost no solo space. But it worked. Peyroux has truly found her own voice and sound. She'll be off to Seoul and Tokio this Saturday (including a 4-day run at Tokyo's Blue Note from May 18-21) before hitting ground again in the US in mid-June where she continues her tour.