Cécile McLorin Salvant in Concert

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A fearless and electrifying jazz vocalist of astonishing power and originality, Cécile McLorin Salvant has vaulted into the very top of the jazz singing pantheon since her 2010 win of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocal Competition. The Grammy-winning artist and songwriter has a voice that knows no bounds, deftly incorporating jazz, blues, folk and classical into her intoxicating sound.

Cécile McLorin Salvant was born and raised in Miami, Florida of a French mother and a Haitian father. She started classical piano studies at 5, and began singing in the Miami Choral Society at 8. Early on, she developed an interest in classical voice, began studying with private instructors, and later with Edward Walker, vocal teacher at the University of Miami.  In 2007, Cécile moved to Aix-en-Provence, France, to study law as well as classical and baroque voice at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory. It was in Aix-en-Provence, with reedist and teacher Jean-François Bonnel, that she started learning about jazz, and sang with her first band. In 2009, after a series of concerts in Paris, she recorded her first album “Cécile”, with Jean-François Bonnel’s Paris Quintet. A year later, she won the Thelonious Monk International Vocal Competition in Washington D.C.

Cécile McLorin Salvant performs at Shalin Liu Performance Center on Sunday, Aug 6. Showtime is 5 PM.