In the still-formative yet substantial recorded output of Cécile McLorin Salvant, the Miami-born vocalist has worked wonders and managed feats of imagination with a piano trio backing her uniquely limber vocals. And so it is both surprising and contextually logical that her latest recording, The Window, finds her paring down to the minimal essence of
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Dodging familiar standards, Salvant finds inspiration in obscurities from Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Alec Wilder, but also lends a bright new arrangement to “Somewhere” (synched with Leonard Bernstein’s centennial). The album opens on a memorable note with an almost revelatory arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Visions,” highlighting the prophetic sophistication of Wonder’s ’70s music.
Fortner continually impresses with his flowing inventiveness and versatility, which stands out on his post-modern solo on “The Sweetest Sounds”; a tour de force performance on “I’ve Got Your Number”; and a semi-minimalist fantasia of a solo on “Somewhere.”
As a choice finale, the Jimmy Rowles classic “The Peacocks,” with lyrics by Norma Winstone, is the album’s lengthiest, most openly jazz-steeped track. Aldana’s striking, Wayne Shorter-esque solo, breathy and mystical, provides an ideal detour from the voice-piano format. The saxophonist joins Salvant on the bridge of this haunting, chromatic jigsaw melody, which is given new expressive life. The tune serves as a contemplative high note of The Window, another treasure in Salvant’s evolving discography.— Josef Woodard
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Feature photo by Mark Fitton