Miami born-and-raised Cécile McLorin Salvant turned 30 in August and already has won three Jazz Vocals Grammys. Anchored around an immaculate recording of one of her recent concerts, co-directors Dennis Scholl and Marlon Johnson continue their musical explorations with Singular, the storybook tale of a once-in-a-lifetime talent who has taken the music world by storm. Their film traces the meteoric rise from her beginning as a child prodigy of French and Haitian culturally aware parents to her education in Aix-en-Provence, her breakout success as winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and beyond. At her age, of course, McLorin Salvant remains very much an artist-in-the-making. At film’s end, you realize the work of art is herself.
Dennis Scholl and Marlon Johnson will introduce the film and take questions from the audience in the company of Léna, McLorin Salvant’s mother and inspiration.