VIVIDLY VIRTUOSIC

Cécile McLorin Salvant describes herself as hovering “between orthodoxy and heterodoxy” as well as being “really, really eclectic” and “interested in traditions and roots and history.” Her November 1 performance at Berklee Performance Center, part of the Boston Celebrity Series, beautifully encompassed those diverse tendencies.

Recipient of a 2020 MacArthur Foundation award and multiple Grammys, Salvant, who is French-Haitian-American (born in Miami of a French mother and a Haitian father) tours more extensively in Europe than in the United States. Opportunities to hear and see her live performances in the United States are rare and not to be missed!

Salvant’s program last night, approximately 90 intermission-free minutes, opened with a gorgeous rendition of Burton Lane and Frank Loesser’s “I Hear Music,” in a tribute to Oscar Peterson who recorded the song with Ella Fitzgerald. Salvant rendered the tune with a controlled breathiness that evoked flutes and oboes rather than Fitzgerald. Later in the program Salvant paid tribute to Peterson again, whose centennial is being celebrated this year, with Peterson’s “Hymn to Freedom.”

The “really, really eclectic” program included such diverse offerings as South African singer and songwriter Tyla’s pop-Amapiano hit “Water” and what Salvant referred to as “the ultimate stalker song,” Lerner and Loewe’s “On the Street Where You Live.” This was followed by Cole Porter’s comic “I Hate Men” from Kiss Me Kate. The program included as well a number of pieces written by Salvant, including “Fog” and “Obligation,” which includes startlingly unlyrical yet psychologically astute lyrics such as “promises lead to expectations/which lead to resentment.” We also heard “What Does Blue Mean to You?” inspired by Toni Morrison’s Beloved and featured on Salvant’s newly released album, Oh Snap! Salvant treated us to the disco-beat title song from that album (comically losing control of her electronic keyboard), which describes the terror of new love—“oh snap I think I love you/but love is different, it’s not at all what I had fantasized”—an emotion not frequently described in music.

The variety suggested by these selections doesn’t convey the virtuosity of Salvant’s delivery. She brings a sense of humor to her performance and often seems amused by the sheer power and range of her extraordinary vocal abilities, moving from a growling bass to a soaring soprano within a single musical phrase. This musical diversity is apparent in her arrangements as well. “Obligation” opens with a complex and beautiful bass solo by long-time accompanist Yasushi Nakamura. Salvant begins singing accompanied only by the bass before the rest of the musicians join her. Her communication with her pianist (Glenn Zaleski on this portion of the tour) and her percussionist Kyle Poole is warm and constant and the responsiveness of their support for her vocal adventures mesmerizing.

Salvant concluded the program in Boston with a piece called “Black Wing and Silver Hue,” a song from an early 1980s production of Aeschylus’s Agamemnon (translation by Tony Harrison, music by Harrison Birtwistle). Believe it or not, this obscure selection ended with a lively call-and-response, with the audience functioning as the chorus to the refrain “Batter (the doom drum) / But believe there’ll be better,” a sentiment that left me with an appreciative smile.

photos by Robert Torres/Celebrity Series of Boston

Cécile McLorin Salvant Quartet
presented by Celebrity Series of Boston
reviewed November 1, 2025 at Berklee Performance Center, Boston MA
for more info, visit Cécile McLorin Salvant