WBGO Champions of Jazz 2017 - April 21
Newark Public Radio
performers
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Cécile McLorin Salvant
Cécile McLorin Salvant grew up in a bilingual household in Miami, the child of a French mother and Haitian father. She started playing piano at five, and by eight began singing with the Miami Choral Society. After high school, Cécile pursued a degree in French law in the south of France, while embarking on her career as a jazz performer. Her 2016 Grammy winning album, "For One to Love," is heartfelt and embodies the full range of the American popular song, while distilling it into a distinctly personal expression. She channels her unique vocal stylings into the work of her predecessors, from Bessie Smith to Blanche Calloway, Cab’s sister. “I’ve made some choices about celebrating strong women,” Cécile explains, “and I want to celebrate independence, the courage not to look or act a certain way.”
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Sullivan Fortner
Sullivan Joseph Fortner, Jr. is a native of New Orleans who began playing music by ear at the age of seven and was playing for church choirs throughout NOLA by 9. At age 13 he attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts where he earned scholarships to summer jazz programs at the Vail Jazz Institute and Skidmore Jazz Studies. Sullivan was Valedictorian of his high school class while simultaneously graduating from NOCCA. Sullivan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. While touring with Stefon Harris & Blackout, the Roy Hargrove Quintet and the Christian Scott Quintet, he completed his Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music. Sullivan has also performed and studied with: the Marsalis Family; Jason Moran; Nicholas Payton; Irving Mayfield and Donald Harrison. Sullivan is the 2015 Cole Porter Fellow in Jazz of the American Pianist Association.
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Emmet Cohen
Leader of the Emmet Cohen Trio, Cohen presents jazz performance lectures through the YoungArts Foundation and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Jazz for Young People” program. A finalist in both the American Pianists Association’s Cole Porter Fellowship and the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition, Emmet has worked with many great artists including Jimmy Cobb, Jimmy Heath and Christian McBride.
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