Cécile McLorin Salvant

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Salvant
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Biography (Excerpt)

Cécile McLorin Salvant’s Oh Snap comprises 12 very personal songs by the singer/composer (plus a cover of a verse from the Commodores’ 1977 hit “Brick House”) mostly recorded outside of a traditional studio environment. The songs showcase her genre-spanning tastes and influences from her 1990s childhood in Miami—from boy bands to grunge to classical to folk—and include party tracks with beats, samba grooves, and quiet folk songs. The album features longtime collaborators Sullivan Fortner, Yasushi Nakamura, and Kyle Poole, plus cameos from singers June McDoom and Kate Davis.

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https://www.facebook.com/CecileMcLorinSalvantMusic
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Cécile McLorin Salvant’s new album, Oh Snap, is due September 19, 2025, on Nonesuch Records. Oh Snap features twelve very personal songs by Salvant—plus a cover of a verse from the Commodores’ 1977 hit “Brick House”—mostly recorded outside of a traditional studio environment and showcasing her genre-spanning tastes and influences. The album features longtime collaborators Sullivan Fortner, Yasushi Nakamura, and Kyle Poole, as well as cameos from singers June McDoom and Kate Davis. Here's the title track:


The MacArthur Fellow and three-time Grammy-winning singer and composer wrote these short, intimate songs as part of a creative quest: To place spontaneity and joy at the center of her writing process. She originally recorded them alone, at home, never intending for them to be released, using digital tools and effects that she had never played with before, like GarageBand, Logic, AutoTune, Midi plugins, drum loops, vocal effects, reverb, and filters. The songs reflect Salvant’s wide-ranging musical influences from her 1990s childhood in Miami—from boy bands to grunge to classical to folk—and include party tracks with beats, samba grooves, and quiet folk songs.

“I felt I had lost a connection to music because it was something that I felt I should do in a certain way and do well,” she says. “I thought, ‘How can I bring music back in close to me, intimately? ... What would I build if I could just build it alone, based on who I am?’ I was thinking about how free and playful I am with drawing, which I have no training in, but which gives me so much joy ... I thought, ‘How could I approach music this way? How could I use music as a way of journaling?’”

Salvant says of the title track, “I had a very, very specific sound for the vocal that I got through tinkering with these GarageBand and Logic effects and vocal reverbs and things like that. When I started working with Jack DeBoe, who mixed the record, I had a really specific idea of how I wanted the vocal to sound. I am more willing to mess with my voice and make it sound messier and crazier and less clear than others are. Jack, thankfully, was so willing to go there with me and try a bunch of different things ... it was a lot of fun and it was so empowering.”

Cécile McLorin Salvant, a 2020 MacArthur Fellow and three-time Grammy Award winner, is a singer and composer bringing historical perspective, a renewed sense of drama, and an enlightened musical understanding to both jazz standards and her own original compositions. Classically trained, steeped in jazz, blues, and folk, and drawing from musical theater and vaudeville, Salvant embraces a wide-ranging repertoire that broadens the possibilities for live performance.

“Cécile McLorin Salvant’s musical vocabulary is a marvel,” says the Associated Press. Mojo says: “Salvant’s imaginative backdrops ... double dare her audience to follow her next flight of fancy.” Slate calls her “one of the greatest singers ... of our time," and Stereogum exclaims: “Salvant is rapidly moving beyond the boundaries of jazz, and I’m gonna follow wherever she leads.”

Salvant’s performances range from spare duets for voice and piano to instrumental trios to orchestral ensembles. Her unreleased work Ogresse is an ambitious long-form musical fable based on oral fairy tales from the nineteenth century that explores the nature of freedom and desire in a racialized, patriarchal world. Salvant studied at the Université Pierre Mendès-France. She has performed at national and international venues and festivals such as the Newport Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Village Vanguard, and the Kennedy Center. Salvant is also a visual artist. Her previous Nonesuch albums, Ghost Song (2022) and Mélusine (2023), were both nominated for Grammy Awards, as well as receiving critical accolades.

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Latest Release

  • September 16, 2025

    Cécile McLorin Salvant’s Oh Snap comprises 12 very personal songs by the singer/composer (plus a cover of a verse from the Commodores’ 1977 hit “Brick House”) mostly recorded outside of a traditional studio environment. The songs showcase her genre-spanning tastes and influences from her 1990s childhood in Miami—from boy bands to grunge to classical to folk—and include party tracks with beats, samba grooves, and quiet folk songs. The album features longtime collaborators Sullivan Fortner, Yasushi Nakamura, and Kyle Poole, plus cameos from singers June McDoom and Kate Davis.

Releases

News

  • July 11, 2025

    The 73rd DownBeat Critics Poll results are in, and among the winners are repeat winner Ambrose Akinmusire, Trumpeter; Darcy James Argue, Arranger; Mary Halvorson, Guitarist and Group of the Year (Amaryllis); and Cécile McLorin Salvant, Vocalist.

  • July 9, 2025

    Cécile McLorin Salvant’s new album, Oh Snap, is due September 19. It comprises 12 very personal songs by the singer/composer (plus a cover of a verse from the Commodores’ 1977 hit “Brick House”) mostly recorded outside of a traditional studio environment. The songs showcase her genre-spanning tastes and influences from her 1990s childhood in Miami—from boy bands to grunge to classical to folk—and include party tracks with beats, samba grooves, and quiet folk songs. Salvant wrote the intimate songs as part of a creative quest: To place spontaneity and joy at the center of her writing process. The album features longtime collaborators Sullivan Fortner, Yasushi Nakamura, and Kyle Poole, plus cameos from singers June McDoom and Kate Davis. You can watch a video for the title track here.

Tour

Fri, Jul 25
New York, NY
Bryant Park
Fri, Jul 25
New York, NY
Bryant Park
Sat, Jul 26
Woodridge, NY
The Outlier Inn
Sat, Jul 26
Woodridge, NY
The Outlier Inn
Sun, Aug 03
Newport, RI
Fort Adams State Park
Sun, Aug 03
Newport, RI
Fort Adams State Park
Sat, Aug 09
Springfield, OH
Sat, Aug 09
Springfield, OH
Sat, Aug 16
La Jolla, CA
The Baker-Baum Concert Hall
Sat, Aug 16
La Jolla, CA
The Baker-Baum Concert Hall
Wed, Aug 20
Minato City,
Blue Note Tokyo
Wed, Aug 20
Minato City,
Blue Note Tokyo
Thu, Aug 21
Minato City,
Blue Note Tokyo
Thu, Aug 21
Minato City,
Blue Note Tokyo
Fri, Aug 22
Minato City,
Blue Note Tokyo
Fri, Aug 22
Minato City,
Blue Note Tokyo
Sun, Aug 24
Taipei,
National Concert Hall
Sun, Aug 24
Taipei,
National Concert Hall
Thu, Aug 28
Washington, DC
Thu, Aug 28
Washington, DC

Photos

About Cécile McLorin Salvant

  • Cécile McLorin Salvant’s new album, Oh Snap, is due September 19, 2025, on Nonesuch Records. Oh Snap features twelve very personal songs by Salvant—plus a cover of a verse from the Commodores’ 1977 hit “Brick House”—mostly recorded outside of a traditional studio environment and showcasing her genre-spanning tastes and influences. The album features longtime collaborators Sullivan Fortner, Yasushi Nakamura, and Kyle Poole, as well as cameos from singers June McDoom and Kate Davis. Here's the title track:


    The MacArthur Fellow and three-time Grammy-winning singer and composer wrote these short, intimate songs as part of a creative quest: To place spontaneity and joy at the center of her writing process. She originally recorded them alone, at home, never intending for them to be released, using digital tools and effects that she had never played with before, like GarageBand, Logic, AutoTune, Midi plugins, drum loops, vocal effects, reverb, and filters. The songs reflect Salvant’s wide-ranging musical influences from her 1990s childhood in Miami—from boy bands to grunge to classical to folk—and include party tracks with beats, samba grooves, and quiet folk songs.

    “I felt I had lost a connection to music because it was something that I felt I should do in a certain way and do well,” she says. “I thought, ‘How can I bring music back in close to me, intimately? ... What would I build if I could just build it alone, based on who I am?’ I was thinking about how free and playful I am with drawing, which I have no training in, but which gives me so much joy ... I thought, ‘How could I approach music this way? How could I use music as a way of journaling?’”

    Salvant says of the title track, “I had a very, very specific sound for the vocal that I got through tinkering with these GarageBand and Logic effects and vocal reverbs and things like that. When I started working with Jack DeBoe, who mixed the record, I had a really specific idea of how I wanted the vocal to sound. I am more willing to mess with my voice and make it sound messier and crazier and less clear than others are. Jack, thankfully, was so willing to go there with me and try a bunch of different things ... it was a lot of fun and it was so empowering.”

    Cécile McLorin Salvant, a 2020 MacArthur Fellow and three-time Grammy Award winner, is a singer and composer bringing historical perspective, a renewed sense of drama, and an enlightened musical understanding to both jazz standards and her own original compositions. Classically trained, steeped in jazz, blues, and folk, and drawing from musical theater and vaudeville, Salvant embraces a wide-ranging repertoire that broadens the possibilities for live performance.

    “Cécile McLorin Salvant’s musical vocabulary is a marvel,” says the Associated Press. Mojo says: “Salvant’s imaginative backdrops ... double dare her audience to follow her next flight of fancy.” Slate calls her “one of the greatest singers ... of our time," and Stereogum exclaims: “Salvant is rapidly moving beyond the boundaries of jazz, and I’m gonna follow wherever she leads.”

    Salvant’s performances range from spare duets for voice and piano to instrumental trios to orchestral ensembles. Her unreleased work Ogresse is an ambitious long-form musical fable based on oral fairy tales from the nineteenth century that explores the nature of freedom and desire in a racialized, patriarchal world. Salvant studied at the Université Pierre Mendès-France. She has performed at national and international venues and festivals such as the Newport Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Village Vanguard, and the Kennedy Center. Salvant is also a visual artist. Her previous Nonesuch albums, Ghost Song (2022) and Mélusine (2023), were both nominated for Grammy Awards, as well as receiving critical accolades.

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