Cover Cécile McLorin Salvant (Photo: courtesy of Cécile McLorin)
Cécile McLorin Salvant (Photo: courtesy of Cécile McLorin)
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The jazz artist and MacArthur Fellow is coming to Café Carlyle at Carlyle & Co. this June
For American Jazz vocalist and composer Cécile McLorin Salvant fundamental human experiences such as desire, fear and solitude transcend space and time, and are intrinsically linked to our very nature.
The MacArthur Fellowship recipient, which celebrates and inspires creative potential, and three-time Grammy winner explores this transcendence in her latest album, Mélusine. The 14 songs on the record take its listeners through the 14th century French myth of Mélusine, a half-woman and half-snake being who after being betrayed by her lover turns into a dragon and flies away.
Just like the protagonist in the Mélusine myth, McLorin Salvant’s music is a hybrid, which she says she identifies with a lot as a first generation American-born child of two immigrants. Her mother, a French school teacher, and her father, a Haitian doctor, raised her in an environment she describes as racially mixed, with different languages spoken at home.
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In her musical interpretation of Mélusine, McLorin Salvant creates an even more diverse hybrid by giving this fantastical tale a lyrical twist with elements of Haitian voodoo and apocrypha. Mélusine also features reinterpretation of 12th-century troubadour ballads, a song from the ‘70s musical Starmania as well as original numbers in French, Haitian Kreyol, and Occitan (a language spoken in parts of France, Spain and Italy during the Middle Ages).
From June 21 to 24, McLorin Salvant will make her Hong Kong debut at Café Carlyle, a swanky venue at Carlyle & Co. that’s modelled after the New York jazz club.
Tatler had a chat with the artist ahead of her arrival in the city to discuss her latest album, her rise within the music industry, and her favourite thing about Hong Kong.
Above “Mélusine” album cover (Photo: courtesy of Cécile McLorin Salvant)
Above Photoshoot for “Mélusine” album cover (Photo: courtesy of Cécile McLorin Salvant)
“Mélusine” album cover (Photo: courtesy of Cécile McLorin Salvant)
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How do you think your background has influenced you as an artist?
I was brought up by music-lovers with extremely eclectic tastes who valued curiosity above all, and this has fed me as an artist. When I was child I listened to music and ate food from all over the world. We spoke multiple languages. We were used to translating. We were used to comparing cultures. This has had an enormous influence on what I choose to sing, and how I sing it.
What is the significance of the Mélusine myth in today’s world?
This myth is timeless, it is almost a thousand years old. Today, yesterday and tomorrow are so incredibly linked, and certain fundamental things about the human experience [will] never change. When you look at the history of mankind, certain interesting patterns emerge. Some very old human desires haven’t changed, and this album is very much about my ancestry, my fears, my internal struggles, and that is interconnected with power dynamics I’ve observed outside of my life.
How do you personally relate to the myth?
Part of Melusine is about the desire to be [both] invisible and seen. That contradiction, I think, is something we all deal with. It also deals with curiosity, jealousy, secrets and how those develop in long term relationships. Also, falling in love with solitude.
Is there a song you connect with the most?
It depends. Lately I’ve been connecting with Doudou the most. I almost want to scream out when we’re playing it live.
What are the challenges of reinterpreting classics and adding your personal touch to it?
The challenge I think is squeezing the juice out of the songs, and to make them clear. To have the freedom to see them as songs; as something simple.
What do your MacArthur Fellowship, Doris Duke Artist Award and three Grammy awards mean to you, and how do you define your success?
I mostly forget about awards until I am reminded. They were incredible to receive and they have helped me continue to develop my animated feature length film, but to think about awards too much can be paralysing. It’s too fickle. I don’t think [about] the idea of success. My goal is to be engaged and stimulated, and to spread that around to other people.
Tell me about your upcoming performances at Café Carlyle—how did the collaboration come about and what are you excited about?
I’m very excited to be singing at Cafe Carlyle! I think there will be a really intimate atmosphere there that I am so looking forward to.
You also seem to love fashion. Do you have your stage outfits planned for Café Carlyle?
Cafe Carlyle is going to be at the end of a long trip away from home, [so] I can’t bring all of my big dresses. I’m packing Issey Miyake and that’s what I’ll be wearing. It’s super easy and convenient to travel with.
Have you been to Hong Kong before?
Yes! I’ve been there once before.
What are you looking forward to the most about coming back?
I am looking forward to dim sum! And walking around. I love dim sum so much. It’s making me hungry just [thinking] about it. We used to have dim sum as a tradition every time I did piano recitals when I was growing up, so dim sum and music are very connected to me.
Salomé Grouard was Digital Editor and Front & Female Content Lead at Tatler Hong Kong. Primarily focused on managing Tatler Hong Kong’s digital platform and content, she also covers gender equality, the music scene and sports through interviews with industry leaders, experts and trendsetters.
Interview highlights include renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, Korean actor Park Seo Jun, singer Jorja Smith, Chinese TV host Yue-Sai Kan, YouTuber Kimono Mom, Japanese rapper Awich, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Mikey Musumeci.
She has also produced stories on revolutionising sexual wellness in Asia, activism within the surfing community, Asian trans musicians reclaiming their narratives through music and looked at the toxicity of gym culture through the lens of the plus-size community. She also covers music festivals, such as Hong Kong’s Clockenflap and Bali’s Suara.
