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A sublime debut from the up-and-coming Cecile McLorin Salvant – a fresh new jazz singer with really rich roots – and a vocalist who's equally at home with both contemporary styles, and modes from the earliest years of jazz! There's a really complex approach to this record – both stylistically and referentially – and Salvant wants to show right from the start that she's a force to be reckoned with – a singer who can resonate with the best of the contemporary jazz underground, yet one who's got a special attention to creative roots as well. The tunes are a really surprising blend of well-chosen nuggets and a few original numbers – and Cecile gets some killer backing from a creative quartet that features Aaron Diehl on piano and Rodney Whitaker on bass. Cecile's got a sound that's right up there with the best work by Dee Dee Bridgewater or Carmen Lundy in recent years – yet an approach that's definitely all her own as well! Titles include "Baby Have Pity On Me", "Woman Child", "Nobody", "Le Front Cache Sur Tes Genoux", "You Bring Out The Savage In Me", and "Deep Dark Blue". CD

Beautifully intimate sounds from the great Cecile McLorin Salvant – a set that has the singer working with only piano or organ for accompaniment, but at a level that has her voice still flowing with marvelous ease! We've loved Cecile right from the start – but here, she maybe blows us away even more – doing a heck of a lot with just a little, managing to hit Betty Carter-like levels of expression and inflection with her vocals – while Sullivan Fortner plays piano on some tracks, organ on the others! The arrangements are wonderful – as inventive as Cecile's vocals – so that even if you think you know the tune, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Titles include "One Step Ahead", "Visions", "Somewhere", "Trouble Is A Man", "Were Thin That Special FAce", "Tell My Why", "The Peacocks", "J'Ai L'Cafard", and the original tune "A Clef". CD