Cécile McLorin Salvant is a singer, composer, and visual artist whose work is rooted in storytelling. Born in the United States and shaped by a wide range of musical traditions, she approaches jazz as a place where voices from different times and cultures can meet. Blues, vaudeville, folk music, theater, and early classical forms all surface in her repertoire, not as references, but as living materials. Her voice is clear, flexible, and attentive to detail. What stands out is not volume or virtuosity, but the way she inhabits a song. Salvant is drawn to narratives with friction: stories that shift perspective, reveal power dynamics, or carry a quiet sense of irony. She often brings forgotten or rarely recorded songs back into circulation, allowing their meanings to change in the present moment. Live, her performances feel theatrical without becoming staged. Time stretches and contracts, lyrics are carefully shaped, and silence plays an active role. Improvisation unfolds in close dialogue with her band, leaving space for nuance and surprise. At Jazz Middelheim, Salvant’s music resonates with the festival’s tradition of jazz as an open form. Her work moves between composition and reinterpretation, intimacy and imagination, inviting listeners to follow the story wherever it leads.

• 'This is Cécile McLorin Salvant' Playlist on Spotify.