On Thursday evening, September 6th, SFJazz kicked off their 2018/2019 season with a member’s only performance featuring Cécile McLorin Salvant accompanied by Sullivan Fortner on piano. Becky and I had been anticipating this performance for months, and let me just say, it was not a disappointment. Her new album, The Window, will be released on September 28th, but at the performance, they were selling all of her CDs and LPs except for the newest LP. So, this review is based on the newest CD.
If you don’t know about Cécile McLorin Salvant, all I can say is where have you been. Back in 2010, Salvant walked away with first place in the jazz world’s most prestigious contest, the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. At the time, she was not only the youngest finalist but also a complete unknown. This was just the beginning of the many award nominations and recognition she would receive. Salvant was born Miami to a French mother and a Haitian father, her first language is French. She began her musical training in classical music before she turned to jazz. When she was 5 years old, she started playing the piano and, showing her gift for music, she became a member of the Miami Choral Society at age 8. After college at the University of Miami, she went to Aix-en-Provence in France where she studied law at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory and continued to develop as a singer, but with an emphasis on classical and baroque vocal music. It was while she was in France that she really discovered jazz.
This album is a break from her last three albums, which I reviewed here. In many ways, it’s Salvant unplugged. The album is just her singing and Sullivan Fortner on piano. I must say his work was simply superb. He is one of the great jazz pianists of our time. He’s also an established bandleader and has played with Roy Hargrove, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Wynton Marsalis.
Salvant and Fortner have remarkable chemistry both on stage and on this album. The album is made up of a selection of material that explores the different natures of love. It ranges from early French cabaret to Stevie Wonder, Sondheim, and some of Salvant’s original compositions. I know the goal for the arrangement of songs on this album was to separate each song form the next by shifting the perspective of love’s emotions. For Salvant, the song-to-song leaps in era, genre, tone and perspective are part of the concept.
I have now listened to this album three times, and any of the songs are wonderful on their own. I do prefer the last half of the album a good bit more than the first half. So much so that if I purchase the LP, which will be a double LP set, I would probably seldom listen to disc 1. Why you ask. Well, I get bored during the first nine songs. Like I said, any one song is great, I just find the first nine songs don’t offer enough energy to keep me interested.
Now starting with cut 10, things really pick up with an incredible rendition of “Somewhere (There’s a Place for Us)” a song from the 1957 Broadway musical West Side Story. On this song, you get to hear Salvant’s velvety, rhythmic voice and her incredibly special phrasing. This song also shows off the great chemistry between Salvant and Fortner. Three other songs I really enjoyed in this last bunch were “The Gentleman Is A Dope,” “Trouble is a Man,” and “Everything I’ve got Belongs to You.”
Conclusion
This is not my favorite of Salvant’s albums, but maybe it’s just not my taste in songs. Her vocals and his piano playing are as good as it gets. All I can say is give it a listen. You may love it.