Cecile McLorin Salvant Holds the Dakota Spellbound
Cecile McLorin Salvant returned to the Dakota on Sept. 4, joined in the second set by New York pianist Adam Birnbaum. Over a little more than an hour and 11 songs, the pair moved from “My Favorite Things” and Bessie Smith’s “Black Mountain Blues” to the title track of her new Nonesuch album, “With Every Breath I Take,” and two originals, “Second Guessing” and “Thunder Clouds.” She closed with “What Does Blue Mean to You,” dedicated to Toni Morrison, and returned for an encore of “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” after a standing ovation.
She sang 11 songs in a little over an hour with just a pianist and a completely captive audience full of loyal fans who seemed to hang on her every word, and there was barely an empty seat in the house.
I’m referring to the highly acclaimed, Grammy Award-winning vocalist and composer Cecile McLorin Salvant, who returned to the Dakota on Friday, Sept. 4. During the second set, she was joined by the accomplished and well-respected New York pianist Adam Birnbaum.
Like a perfect waltz, Salvant and Birnbaum rhythmically danced as partners around and around onstage like two pros who were telepathically in sync from start to finish: fiercely supportive, attentive and sensitive to each other’s moves.
The set opened with her signature vocal style on the definitive classic song “My Favorite Things,” followed by Bessie Smith’s “Black Mountain Blues,” which was delivered with plenty of soul and vigor, with Salvant belting out powerful and colorful lyrics, while Birnbaum played impeccably, interpreting each note with great taste and strong dexterity with bluesy piano lines that proved he was a perfect match for Salvant.
With her impressive range and technique, she lovingly sang the title track to her new Nonesuch album, “With Every Breath I Take,” sounding just like the recording: assertive and sublime. Then, smiling big all the while, Salvant moved on to “I’m All Smiles,” which was appropriate. Birnbaum took a solo turn before she joined him again, looping back joyfully and laughingly amusing herself.
The crowd, clearly loving it, continued to listen to “Yesterdays,” as Salvant sang, jokingly, “Love was such an easy game … no, no, not that one,” referencing the famous Beatles song, “Yesterday.” Somewhere in the middle of the song, someone in the audience yelled, “Come on!” signaling her to bring it home. With Art Tatum-like style and grace, Birnbaum bounced off Salvant’s vocals as they exchanged breaks flawlessly.
The set took an extra triumphant turn as she sang two of her original compositions back-to-back, “Second Guessing” (from her 2025 album “Oh Snap”) and then “Thunder Clouds” (from her 2022 album “Ghost Song”).
Encouraged by an enthusiastic female fan who shouted, “I love that song!” at the beginning of the first song and then shouted again, “I love that song, too!” on the latter, Salvant indulged and delivered two of the boldest songs of the set.
With all the vocal precision and yearning storytelling ability of Roberta Flack, and song stylings of Nancy Wilson, turning songs into mini theatrical plays with subtle inflections and tone shifts, Salvant stunned her fans.
Closing with “What Does Blue Mean to You” (also from “Oh Snap”), a song she wrote and dedicated to writer Toni Morrison, she gave it everything she had.
For their overall brilliance and expert musicianship, Salvant and Birnbaum earned a well-deserved standing ovation, and then launched into the encore, “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye,” a song Ella Fitzgerald herself would have approved of. In the end, more than once, Salvant went directly to the very edge of the stage to engage up-close with an audience that she had at hello.
Salvant’s new album, “With Every Breath I Take,” is available now on Nonesuch Records.
Robin James welcomes reader responses at jamesonjazz@spokesman-recorder.com.