(WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ)  -- The Center for the Arts at Monmouth University presents Madeline Peyroux in the Pollak Theatre on November 13.  The jazz-infused singer-songwriter and guitarist will make her first appearance at the Shore.  The artist has been variously branded reclusive, mysterious, even enigmatic -- a “best kept secret” whose natural milieu has been more about the streets of Paris than the stages of the international concert circuit.

Hailing from the boulevards, bars and bistros of the City of Lights by way of Athens — Athens, Georgia that is; home to R.E.M., the B-52s, and Jason Isbell — the American-born daughter of “eccentric educators” received her primary musical training while busking around the streets of the Parisian Latin Quarter, in between higher-profile appearances at the Montreal Jazz Festival and in various editions of the Lillith Fair tour. Dropping well below pop-cultural radar for extended intervals (returning to the busker’s existence even after the release of her well-received 1996 major-label debut album), the performer who “eschews publicity and keeps a low profile” crafted a reputation as a sort of international woman of mystery; keeping her fervent fans hungering for more between intermittent full-length releases and the odd soundtrack contribution.

In the middle of her most extensive North American touring itinerary in years, Peyroux crisscrosses the continent (with pond-hops to the UK) in support of Keep Me In Your Heart For a While, a career-spanning retrospective on Amazon Rounder Records that corrals cuts from the artist’s albums on the Atlantic, Rounder and Decca labels (including the most recent, 2013’s The Blue Room). The two-disc collection is a big tent, within which Peyroux originals mingle with her interpretations of signatures by inspirations that range from Edith Piaf (“La Vie en Rose”) and Patsy Cline (“Walking After Midnight”), to Frank Sinatra (“The Summer Wind”), The Everly Brothers (“Bye Bye Love”), and the Warren Zevon cover that lends its title to the set. 

Expect a spiritually similar and eclectic experience, when the singer (whose smoky vocal skills have often been likened to those of Billie Holiday) takes the Pollak stage for a rare event that promises to make itself at home, inside Monmouth County’s premier venue for intimately scaled concerts. It’s an entry in the milestone 20th season of performing arts offerings; an evening for music lovers that celebrates the eternal busker’s wisdom, heart, and soul.

Tickets for the November 13 concert by Madeleine Peyroux are priced at $39 and $49 (with special Gold Circle seating available for $60), and can be reserved through the Monmouth University Performing Arts Box Office at 732-263-6889, or online at www.monmouth.edu/arts.

PHOTO BY Marina Chavez