This week, I’ve had Cecile McLorin Salvant’s version of “Wives and Lovers” #OnRepeat. I know I’ve written about Cecile before, but after seeing her perform live at the Playboy Jazz Festival this past Saturday, I just have to mention her again.
To be honest, I’ve been stuck on Cecile McLorin Salvant for awhile because of her incredible voice and ability to manipulate her sound. However, seeing her perform live is a whole other experience in and of itself. She takes full command of the stage and fills the whole theater with her sound and performance style (and I was sitting almost in the “nose-bleed”section of the venue). I highly encourage everyone watch their favorite vocalists or musical groups perform live; live music allows you to see how musicians adapt to real-life, musical situations and how their musical performance style differs from musician to musician.
“Wives and Lovers,” in my opinion, doesn’t deliver the best message to its audience, but the melody is catchy, and the lyrics have the same playfulness as the melody. Cecile really utilizes this playful, flirty ambience in the song, by whispering and using the higher part of her range. At the same time, though, she has such a powerful instrument that demands s0 much attention, it pulls you in.
Take a listen below to Cecile’s performance of “Wives and Lovers” from the 2015 season at the Hollywood Bowl:
Who are some new vocalists or musicians that you can’t stop listening to? Leave a comment below!