Mélusine

"Wynton Marsalis was right, Cecile McLorin Salvant is the sort of singer who comes along only "once in a generation or two (...) Salvant creates projects that encompass an astonishing array of idioms and historical periods, which she interrelates inventively and interweaves with original compositions. Here, she plumbs the francophone side of her repertoire. French songs have cropped up regularly in her live shows, but less on disk. Mélusine fills the gap brilliantly ... Mélusine is a wondrous album, top to bottom".

Read review

"It almost goes without saying that Salvant's voice is utterly sublime on Mélusine, rich with an earthy jazz warmth on one song and shimmering with a brightly attenuated operatic resonance on another. There's also a feeling that for her, the story of a half-serpent half-woman is in keeping with her life as a Black woman raised in Miami by a Haitian father and French mother. Whether it's with the themes of romantic heartbreak and bodily autonomy, or the global boundary-pushing musicality at play on Mélusine, Salvant's work is transcendent".

Read review

"Salvant is a melodious griot, a musical troubadour who, like her muse, can suddenly change almost imperceptibly. Getting your head around understanding exactly what she's conveying may be taunting, but it's less to do with comprehending the tale as the feeling delivered by the singer".