Cécile McLorin Salvant & Sullivan Fortner in Berlin

I’ve seen singer Cécile McLorin Salvant a lot of times over the years: from the very first, timid but serious steps at the Institut Français in Manhattan with pianist Aaron Diehl right up to her dramatic opus of “L’Ogresse”, about the female, cannibal-like monstrosity which she performed in Hamburg earlier this year, from her rousing performance at the Berlin Jazz Festival several years ago to various showcases at different festivals over the years. So I was really curious about her performance and repertoire with one of my favorite contemporary pianists, Sullivan Fortner. And the evening at the really nice AHF Summer Lounge, the summer location of the Zig Zag club, beautifully located right at the Spree river bank, started off promisingly with a delicate version of Burt Bacharach’s “Always Something There To Remind Me”. But after that, the whole evening became like a rollercoaster ride.

Cécile jumped into cabaret and Broadway tunes, from Cole Porter to George Gershwin to “The Trolley Song”, where I missed the directness and wit of the Blossom Dearie version. But here she was with a staccato-like rendering which just moved too far away from the lyrics. Same applies for the standards she was singing. There was a lot of showing off during her set, similar to what the great Rachelle Ferrell did in her later live shows. Cécile has this really beautiful instrument and total control of her intonation and pitch and diction so I was really irritated why she put so much ornaments and decorations into her performance. I really liked Sullivan’s way of interacting with her and how he intelligently accompanied her and took his own solos forward. Cécile sounded best when she was doing her original tunes, like the title track of her 2022 LP “Ghost Song” towards the end of her set, which she delivered in an absolutely stunning version. And then moments later, for her second encore, she totally destroyed the Chaka Khan classic “Through The Fire”. There is no doubt that I’ll be back checking her out sometime soon though. Please check her tour dates for Europe below. She will also play several dates in Brazil next month. And she plays four dates with the Metropole Orkest under the direction of Darcy James Argue in Amsterdam, Groningen, Utrecht, and Eindhoven in February.

10/17 Skopje – Jazz Festival
10/22 Munich – Prinzregententheater
10/24 Belgrade – Jazz Festival
10/25 Ludwigshafen – BASF Feierabendhaus
10/29 Frankfurt – Alte Oper
10/31 Zurich – jazznojazz Festival
11/01 Hamburg – Laeiszhalle
11/03 Potsdam – Nikolaisaal
11/06 Aalen – Stadthalle
11/07 Dortmund – Konzerthaus
11/09 Bremen – Die Glocke
11/10 Leverkusen – Bayer Erholungshaus