''Mélusine'' is the seventh solo studio album by American jazz vocalist

Cécile McLorin Salvant Cécile McLorin Salvant (born August 28, 1989)Fred Kaplan (journalist), Kaplan, Fred"Cécile McLorin Salvant's Timeless Jazz" ''The New Yorker'', May 22, 2017. is a French-American jazz vocalist. Salvant is one of the most highly regarded jazz voc ...

, released on March 24, 2023, by

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...

. The album was recorded in April 2022 in Brooklyn, with Salvant and Tom Korkidis producing. It is primarily sung in French, and is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

based on the folkloric story of

Melusine Mélusine () or Melusine or Melusina is a figure of European folklore, a nixie (folklore), female spirit of fresh water in a holy well or river. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a Serpent symbolism, serpent or Fish in culture, fish fr ...

. It was preceded by two singles. The album was met with critical acclaim, and was nominated for two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

for

Best Jazz Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz ...

and Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals for Godwin Louis's arranging of the song "Fenestra".

Recording and release

The album was recorded on April 12 and 26, 2022, at Brooklyn Recording and the Bunker Studio, both in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, except for "La route enchantée" which was recorded live. Salvant produced the album with Tom Korkidis, and her band included percussionist Weedie Braimah, pianists Sullivan Fortner and Aaron Diehl, bassists Paul Sikivie and

Luques Curtis Luques Curtis (born August 17, 1983) is an American bassist from Hartford, Connecticut. Now based in New York City, Luques has been performing nationally and internationally with artists such as Eddie Palmieri, Ralph Peterson, Jr, Christian Scott, ...

, drummers Kyle Pool and Obed Calvaire, and saxophonist Godwin Louis. Salvant primarily sang in French, her first language, with other songs in English,

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

, and

Haitian Kreyòl Haitian Creole (; , ; , ), or simply Creole (), is a French-based creole language spoken by 10 to 12million people worldwide, and is one of the two official languages of Haiti (the other being French), where it is the native language of the v ...

. The album was first announced on January 26, 2023, with release dates set for March 24 for digital, and May 19 on vinyl, both by

. The announcement came with the lead single, "D'un feu secret", and an animated music video by Amanda Bonaiuto. "D'un feu secret" ("Of a Secret Fire") is a 1660 composition by

Michel Lambert Michel Lambert (1610 – 29 June 1696) was a French singer, theorbist, and composer. Career Lambert was born at Champigny-sur-Veude, France. He received his musical education as an altar boy at the Chapel of Gaston d'Orléans, a brother of kin ...

, which Salvant sings "like an

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

performer, poised and delicate with feathery ornaments", while Fortner's synthesizer "savor the

anachronism An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...

". The second single, the title track, was released on March 2.

Themes

The album is named after

, a figure of

European folklore European folklore or Western folklore refers to the folklore of the Western world, especially when discussed comparatively. The history of Christendom during the Early Modern period has resulted in a number of traditions that are shared in many E ...

detailed by

14th-century The 14th century lasted from 1 January 1301 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCCI) to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and natural disasters in both Euro ...

French writer

Jean d'Arras Jean d'Arras ( 1392–1394) was a 14th-century writer from Northern France about whom little is known. He collaborated with Antoine du Val and Fouquart de Cambrai in putting together a collection of stories entitled ''L'Évangile des quenouilles ...

. Melusine is a woman whose lower body transforms into a snake on Saturdays. She is met by Raymondin and agrees to marry him and make him rich if he promises not to visit her on Saturdays, but when he eventually breaks that promise, she turns into a dragon and flies away. Salvant said she first connected with the story's inclusion of "that alone time, that '' Room of One's Own'', as

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

put it, and how difficult it is to find that and protect it", but later also identified with Raymondin's desire to not allow one's partner to have a world outside the relationship. Salvant also described the album as being about "that feeling of being a hybrid, a mixture of different cultures, which I've experienced not only as the American-born child of two first generation immigrants, but as someone raised in a family that is racially mixed, from several different countries, with different languages spoken in the home."

Style

Unlike traditional

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

, where each song advances the main narrative, the songs of ''Mélusine'' reflect the emotional temperature of each part of the story. ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

''s Fred Kaplan said the album is "as much

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, mystical, and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

as it is

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

... with songs spanning from the 12th century to

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

ditties and Broadway showtunes to a few Salvant originals".

Reception

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

''s Katchie Cartwright called ''Mélusine'' "a wondrous album, top to bottom". ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' stated that the album "retains the intellectual curiosity of Salvant's jittery, questing catalogue".

Awards and nominations

Year-end lists

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

– vocals,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

(7, 9, 13) * Sullivan Fortner – piano (3, 5, 6, 11, 12), synthesizer (6, 10),

kalimba Mbira ( ; ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and ...

(12), vocals (12),

celesta The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...

(14) * Aaron Diehl – piano (1, 2) * Paul Sikivie – bass (1, 2) * Kyle Pool – drums (1, 2) *

Lawrence Leathers Lawrence "Lo" Leathers (November 23, 1981 – June 2, 2019) was an American jazz drummer who played on two of Cécile McLorin Salvant's albums that have won Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Biography Leathers was born in Lansing, M ...

– drums (2) *

– bass (3, 5, 12, 14) * Obed Calvaire – drums (3, 5, 12) * Godwin Louis –

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

(3, 5), whistle (3), vocals (12) * Weedie Braimah – percussion (3, 5, 12, 14),

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

(4) * Daniel Swenberg –

nylon-string guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the modern steel-string a ...

(8)

Technical

* Cécile McLorin Salvant – producer,

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

(7, 9, 13),

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

(7, 9, 13) * Tom Korkidis – co–producer * John Davis – mixing engineer, recording engineer (1, 2, 6, 10, 11) * Andy Taub – recording engineer (3–5, 12, 14) * Samuel Wahl – assistant recording engineer (3–5, 12, 14) * Todd Whitelock – recording engineer (8) * Alex Deturk –

mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

* Godwin Louis –

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

(3, 5, 12)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2023 albums Cécile McLorin Salvant albums Nonesuch Records albums 2020s French-language albums 2020s concept albums Music based on European myths and legends