Cecile McLorin Salvant, Cadogan Hall

Whether reinterpreting obscurities of the past or presenting her own new compositions, Cecile McLorin Salvant manages to sound timeless.

Likely the brightest young jazz vocalist of our day, her ascent has already gone down in music legend. In 2010, an unknown 20-year old entered the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition; against all expectations, she won and became an instant star. Her work since has not tarnished this initial triumph: WomanChild (2014), her mature debut, was widely acclaimed, and live appearances have become must-see events.

Cecile McLorin Salvant: Jazz Singer

Born in Florida to a French mother and Haitian father, Salvant’s studied classical singing and law at the Darius Milhaud Conservatoire. Here, she began to explore the music of the twentieth century, and began to move from the baroque to jazz. This operatic background might help account for the engrossing theatricality of her performances, where she treats each song as if a character study.

Emotion and empathy are at the core of her work. For anyone with a taste for old world jazz, Salvant’s London appearance at the EFG Jazz Festival 2015 might well be a revelation.