"I have seen this woman perform live a number of times, and one of the great thrills of watching her has been beholding what she has discovered, what she has unearthed in music that other artists wrote," Wesley Morris says of Cécile McLorin Salvant, his guest on the New York Times' Cannonball. "Their songs become hers, and to a listener, they mean something deeper than the original and often sound completely new." The episode is focused on the art of the cover song—a phrase Salvant doesn't use—and opens with a list of Morris's all-time favorites, on which he includes Salvant's take on Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights," from her 2022 Nonesuch debut album, Ghost Song. Hear the episode here.
"I have seen this woman perform live a number of times, and one of the great thrills of watching her has been beholding what she has discovered, what she has unearthed in music that other artists wrote," Wesley Morris says of Cécile McLorin Salvant, his guest on the New York Times podcast Cannonball. "Their songs become hers, and to a listener, they mean something deeper than the original and often sound completely new." The episode is focused on the art of the cover song—a phrase Salvant doesn't use—and opens with a list of Morris's all-time favorites, on which he places Salvant's interpretation of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights," the opening track to her 2022 Nonesuch debut album, Ghost Song, at No. 7. You can hear their conversation here via Spotify and Apple Podcasts:
Ghost Song features a diverse mix of seven originals and five interpretations on the themes of ghosts, nostalgia, and yearning. The New York Times calls it "her most revealing and rewarding album yet." Uncut says she is "one of the most daring and resourceful vocalists in jazz—or any other genre, for that matter." The Arts Desk exclaims: "The treasure trove of marvels that is Ghost Song exceeds all expectations." You can get it and hear the album here.
You can hear her perform "Wuthering Heights" from Ghost Song here:
Cécile McLorin Salvant’s new album, Oh Snap, released in September, 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. You can get it and hear it here.
Salvant is on tour in Europe, heading to France and Spain this weekend, followed by stops in Germany, Czechia, Italy, and Hungary. For details and tickets, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
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