Cécile McLorin Salvant is a jazz vocalist born in 1989 in Miami, Florida, and raised there by a French mother and a Haitian father. Her work is associated with jazz and vocal jazz, and she is known for singing and interpreting material drawn from the jazz and blues repertoire.

Early life and training

She begins classical piano studies at the age of five and starts singing in the Miami Choral Society at eight. She develops an interest in classical voice, studies with private instructors, and later works with Edward Walker, a vocal teacher at the University of Miami.

In 2007 she moves to Aix-en-Provence, France, to study law and classical and baroque voice at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory. There she works with reedist and teacher Jean-François Bonnel, learns about improvisation, studies instrumental and vocal repertoire from the 1910s onwards, and sings with her first band.

Recording career

In 2009, after a series of concerts in Paris, she records her first album, Cécile, with Jean-François Bonnel’s Paris Quintet. In 2012 she records at Avatar Studios for a Mack Avenue release with Aaron Diehl, Rodney Whitaker, Herlin Riley and James Chirillo.

Style and repertoire

McLorin Salvant performs distinctive versions of lesser-known and rarely recorded jazz and blues songs. She also writes music and lyrics, sings in French and Spanish, and often gives jazz standards a theatrical approach. Her singing is noted for a wide range and for clear phrasing rather than extended scatting.

Collaborations and performances

She works with musicians including Jean-François Bonnel, Rodney Whitaker, Aaron Diehl, Dan Nimmer, Sadao Watanabe, Jacky Terrasson, Archie Shepp and Jonathan Batiste. She also performs with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at Lincoln Center in New York and at Symphony Center in Chicago.

Her festival and venue appearances include Jazz à Vienne, Ascona, Whitley Bay, Montauban, Foix, the Kennedy Center, the Spoleto Jazz Festival and the Detroit Jazz Festival. She also sings in a Chanel “Chance” advertising campaign.

Awards and recognition

In 2010 she wins the Thelonious Monk competition in Washington, D.C.

Associated ensembles

She is associated with Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour and ARTEMIS.