Madeleine Peyroux’s Multicultural Tapestry
The veteran vocalist established a poignant, socially conscious presence at the SFJAZZ Center, transforming the Miner Auditorium into a global neighborhood.
Wednesday night marked the second performance of Madeleine Peyroux’s two-night run at the SFJAZZ Center’s Miner Auditorium, a significant return after her 2011 SFJAZZ Festival appearance at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. Stepping into the spotlight in a Mark Rothko–esque, blue-toned, flowing caftan, she commanded the room with radical intimacy. She opened the 90-minute set with a spoken-word reflection, asking, “I asked myself, What do I know is true?” The crowd murmured in anticipation as she delivered her defiant conclusion: “Nothing, but I wrote this anyway.” It was quintessential Peyroux—sly, vulnerable, intellectually grounded.
The performance relied on the lean, percussive interplay of a trio. Electric guitarist Jon Herington and bassist Paul Frazier provided instrumental heft and finely blended vocals, enriching the sonic palette. They opened the sixteen-song set with “(Getting Some) Fun Out of Life,” the 1937 Billie Holiday staple, easing the audience into a buoyant swing. The rapport among the players remained palpable, particularly on Tom Waits’ “Tango Till They’re Sore,” where Frazier’s bowed bass cast a theatrical, cabaret-tinged hue over a New Orleans funeral-march pulse.
Peyroux’s voice has settled into a singular instrument of gravitas. Early comparisons to Holiday feel increasingly distant; her phrasing now carries its own lived authority, navigating complex narratives with measured restraint. Midway through the evening, she wove a multicultural tapestry from her childhood neighborhood—Vietnamese grocers, Polish delis, Greek neighbors—framing her music as both a refuge and a “melting pot” for displaced stories. She cited artists such as Perry Como, Louis Prima, Paul Simon, and Judy Collins as examples of how immigrant or ethnic lineages have shaped American song. The thread transformed the concert into a bridge between the Great American Songbook and the global currents that shaped it.
The evening’s center of gravity arrived with the title track of her new album, Let’s Walk. Peyroux has completed her evolution from master interpreter to songwriter with pointed social conscience. For this performance, she introduced updated lyrics: “Let’s march, let’s protest, let’s make little signs.” She invited the sold-out house to clap and sing the closing refrain—“You are the people of my heart and soul, I want the world to know about freedom, about justice”—turning the auditorium into a communal chorus. The moment clarified her present artistic purpose: song as civic gesture.
Between numbers, Peyroux offered philosophical reflections, quoting the Tao Te Ching twice. One passage addressed governance: “Governing a large country is like boiling a delicate fish.” Another contemplated excellence: “All greatness is improbable. What’s probable is tedious and petty.” These interludes lent the evening an intellectual dimension without drifting into abstraction; they underscored her commitment to art as inquiry.
Levity surfaced as well. Introducing “If the River Was Whiskey,” she reflected on her long history with her bandmates: “The point is, we used to drink a lot because we had so much time together. Okay, we haven’t been drinking much lately, but we still do a drinking song.” The humor landed easily, reinforcing the intimacy she cultivated throughout the set.
The performance concluded with a tender reading of Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me In Your Heart,” prompting a standing ovation that brought the trio back for Bessie Smith’s “Careless Love.” Across sixteen songs and an encore, Peyroux balanced worldly reflection with grounded warmth. Before departing, she expressed a simple hope: that her audience might return to their communities determined to make others feel “welcome, safe, seen, and cared for like me.” In her hands, the American neighborhood felt expansive—shaped by migration, memory, and the sustaining power of song.
Program Notes
Madeleine Peyroux Trio
Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Showtime: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Miner Auditorium (SFJAZZ Center)
Personnel
Madeleine Peyroux: lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Jon Herington: electric guitar, harmonica, background vocals
Paul Frazier: acoustic and electric bass, background vocals
Setlist: “(Getting Some) Fun Out of Life,” “Find True Love,” “Catch a Falling Star,” “Tango Till They’re Sore,” “If I Only Had a Brain,” “Dreamers,” “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive,” “If the River Was Whiskey,” “You Can’t Catch Me,” “American Tune,” “Don’t Wait Too Long,” “In Germany Before the War,” “Let’s Walk,” “Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think),” “We Are America/Yes We Can Can,” “Keep Me In Your Heart”
Encore: “Careless Love”
Photos: Steve Roby
Madeleine Peyroux's official website: https://madeleinepeyroux.com
