Cécile McLorin Salvant Launches Jazz Club At The Soraya

The Soraya's Great Hall will be transformed into the coolest of the cool intimate New York nightspot as "Jazz Club" arrives at The Younes and Soraya Center for the Performing Arts this spring. Grammy Award-winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant kicks off "Jazz Club" with her unmatched range that soars to the rafters and dives to earthy depths. She continues the legacies of the greats-Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday-and tackles racial stereotypes by performing forgotten numbers from the vaudeville and minstrel eras stretching back more than a century. McLorin Salvant performs two nights, April 18 & 19 at The Soraya's Jazz Club located on the campus of CalState University, Northridge.

"We can't imagine a better artist to kick-off our intimate Jazz Club than Cécile McLorin Salvant." Said Thor Steingraber, Executive Director of The Soraya. "Jazz Club is a new experience that puts our audience right in the middle of the action where you can enjoy a drink at a prime table, or wander through the crowd to mingle with friends as they enjoy artists such as Cecile whose voice in unparalleled. Even the great Wynton Marsalis said a singer of her caliber comes around 'once in a generation.'"

Ben Ratliff writes in The New York Times about McLorin Salvant, "she sings clearly, with her full pitch range, from a pronounced low end to full and distinct high notes, used sparingly [...] Her voice clamps into each song, performing careful variations on pitch, stretching words but generally not scatting; her face conveys meaning, representing sorrow or serenity like a silent-movie actor."

Single tickets beginning at $28 are now available. Other upcoming Jazz Club performances include Amir El Saffar's Two Rivers Ensemble (April 26) and Terence Blanchard Breathless featuring the E-Collective (May 1 &2). For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.valleyperformingartscenter.org or call 818-677-3000. The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts is located at 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330. Ticket prices subject to change.

About Cécile McLorin Salvant

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 competition in Washington D.C.

Over the years, she has developed a curiosity for the history of American music, and the connections between jazz, vaudeville, blues, and folk music. Cécile carefully chooses her repertoire, oftentimes unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten songs, with strong stories.

She enjoys popularity in Europe and in the United States, performing in clubs, concert halls, and festivals. In 2014, her second album, WomanChild (Mack Avenue Records) was nominated for a Grammy.

Her third album, For One To Love (for Mack Avenue Records), was recorded in 2015 with Aaron Diehl (piano), Paul Sikivie (bass), and Lawrence Leathers (drums). In 2016, For One To Love won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Her latest album Dreams and Daggers (for Mack Avenue Records) recently won the 60th Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. The album was recorded in part live at the Village Vanguard with Aaron Diehl (piano), Paul Sikivie (bass), Lawrence Leathers (drums), The Catalyst Quartet and Sullivan Fortner. The Guardian gives the record "Five Stars," and calls it "An awe-inspiringly audacious jazz reworking...an awesome performance."