Mary Poppins dropped onto New York City’s Little Island last night in the guise of the ever-elegant Cécile McLorin Salvant, gloriously using the often pouring rain, her clear bucket umbrella, and yellow rain slicker as impromptu props. Talk about going with the flow!
As the sold-out cheerful, anticipatory crowd got wet on the line waiting to enter the amphitheater, ushers handed out blue plastic rain gear, and when the staff ran out of those, found a stash of clear ones. Watching the audience pulling them on in the rain suggested a good television show competition.
Salvant was still going through the soundcheck as the crowd filed in, then scurried off so as to make a proper entrance a few minutes later with Sullivan Fortner (piano), Kyle Poole (drums), and Paul Sikivie (bass).
Since her debut album 16 years ago, Salvant has climbed ever-higher in the ranks of contemporary jazz singers-interpreters-composers. Here, she interspersed a 17th Century French chanson (she trained initially as a classical vocalist, coming to jazz only later) along with classics from the American songbook, a song by Sting, her own compositions, and more.
Her voice, as each time we’ve heard her in the past, was sublime — textured to the context of each song. Taking the on again-off again-on again rain with humor and grace, no one begrudged her cutting the set a few minutes short. The comments upon leaving, as audience members opened their own umbrellas to fend off the latest downpour and wind, were uniformly joyous for having shared a drenched evening with this treasure of a singer.
(Photos by Riva Bennett)
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