On Thursday evening, SF Jazz kicked off their 2018/2019 season with a member’s only performance from 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.
Back in January, I reviewed three of her albums and said, “Cécile McLorin Salvant’s albums are about as good as jazz female vocal music gets.” I’m not the only one to feel this way; Salvant won the 2001 Thelonious Monk International Vocals Competition and drew the attention of early collaborators Jacky Terrasson and Wynton Marsalis. Her 2015 album, For One to Love, won Salvant her first GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Her 2017 album Dreams and Daggers resulted in her second GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
If you’re not familiar with this singer, she was born in Miami to a French mother and a Haitian father, and 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 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 as well as jazz.
As we listened to her sing live, both Becky and I felt that we were in the presence of greatness. She sang some beautiful ballads, some Bessie Smith, Al Jolson and other assorted greats. Her new album, The Window, will be released on September 28th. It is a departure from her previous albums as it is just her vocals accompanied on piano by Sullivan Fortner. His work on piano Thursday night was simply superb.
She sang a few simple songs with a lot of double entendres. It was on these songs that I was reminded of another performance where I felt I was in the presence of greatness. We attended the family matinee at Yoshi’s in Oakland on Father’s Day 2001 to hear the great Ray Brown. Sitting at one of the tables that are right at the stage was a couple with their son, and it was his 10th birthday. Ray asked him if he had a request. The boy asked Ray Brown to play “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” He proceeded to play a duet with his bass and the drummer of the song. It was so incredible I felt like it was a jazz standard. I think to take these simple songs and to perform them so profoundly is a sign of real greatness.
I have to take a moment to comment on the piano playing of Sullivan Fortner. it was simply inspired. He improvised beautifully with Salvant. They also had great chemistry between them. I wish I knew the name of the song that she sang for an encore, but sadly I don’t. After a phenomenal performance, her encore was a ballad sung acapella. Her strong, melodic voice with no accompaniment left very few dry eyes and earned her a well deserved standing ovation.
Oh, and Becky said I have to mention that her high-healed pink house slippers were also quite fetching! Let’s face it, when you are as talented as she is, being eclectic is just considered to be part of her genius.
Seeing her live is maybe a “once-in-a-lifetime” event. If you get a chance to hear her in person, don’t miss it! And, thank you SF Jazz for such a marvelous venue. If you live in the Bay area or come for a visit, it’s well worth taking in a concert there.
