The Chan Centre Presents Vocal Jazz Prodigy Cécile McLorin Salvant

The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia (UBC) presents the return of singular jazz sensation, Cécile McLorin Salvant, on May 1 at 7pmin the Chan Shun Concert Hall.  Hot off her 2016 GRAMMY win for Best Vocal Jazz Album, Salvant shares bold new works from the record For One to Love — a heartfelt collection of songs, many of which are written by Salvant herself, that reveal new dimensions of this young vocalist’s artistry.  

"Just over one year ago, Cécile McLorin Salvant performed on our stage for the first time to a completely captivated crowd. The stunning concert left a lasting impression and I knew we had to welcome her back soon,” says Joyce Hinton, Co-Managing Director of the Chan Centre. “To witness this one-of-a-kind artist – who continues to astound audiences and critics worldwide with her extraordinary ability – is an occasion not-to-be-missed.” 

Cécile McLorin Salvant’s North American career launched at the age of 21 when she won the 2010 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, considered the most prestigious honour in jazz. Soon after, Salvant released the GRAMMY nominated album WomanChild, which topped four categories of the DownBeat Critic’s Poll in 2014 and was named Jazz Album of the Year by NPR.

In 2016, Salvant earned her first GRAMMY award with the follow up album, For One to Love, a more personal, confessional project. Upon its release in September 2015, the record called a “thrilling voyage” by The Guardian, drew wide acclaim.

“I’m not playing anyone else here but myself,” Salvant explains in describing the album. “I can look at many of these songs, and see that this is an event that really happened, or a feeling I’ve lived through myself. That’s what makes it so difficult to share. It’s almost like a diary entry.”
 
Named “the finest jazz singer to emerge in the last decade” by the New York Times, Salvant’s whirlwind rise to fame parallels her seemingly overnight mastery of the art of jazz. Her early voice training focused not on jazz, but on classical and baroque styles. In 2007, the French-Haitian chanteuse travelled from her hometown of Miami, Florida to Aix-en-Provence, France to continue her classical vocal studies. However, after an introduction to improvisation and the jazz form, she quickly became immersed in the 20^th century genre. Alongside her instructor, reedist Jean-Francois Bonnel and his quartet, Salvant began performing jazz at venues across Paris.
 
Three short years following her initial foray into jazz, Salvant was called to Washington, DC as a finalist before the Thelonious Monk competition’s illustrious panel: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Patti Austin and Al Jarreau. The judges were struck by Salvant’s presence and theatricality, noting her embodiment of the seasoned songstress.
 
Salvant’s marathon career has not let up its breakneck pace. Alongside Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, she has graced renowned jazz festivals, including Montauban, Jazz à Vienne, Ascona, Whitley Bay and Foix. More recently, Salvant can be heard as the voice of Chanel’s Chance perfume, and on the soundtrack for the HBO series Bessie.