Cecile Mclorin Salvant and Sullivan Fortner; Fred Hersch
Jazz fans are in for a treat in the coming weeks as the Esplanade is bringing some heavy hitters in the genre for its Mosaic Music series and Jazz In July programme.
My first pick is Cecile McLorin Salvant, a Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition and Grammy Award winner whose wide-ranging voice is an absolute marvel.
The French-American singer’s musical trajectory has been intriguing – moving from straight jazz in early albums WomanChild (2013) and For One To Love (2015) to more contemporary recent offerings such as Ghost Song (2022), with an ethereal take on Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights; and Melusine (2023), which explores the European myth of the female water serpent.
Technically precise in her delivery and academically inclined in her song selection, Salvant’s concert promises to be an intimate affair that covers both classics and her originals.
She will be accompanied by pianist Sullivan Fortner for her two-night engagement. Hardcore fans may want to top up their tickets for a behind-the-scenes conversation with both musicians on July 1 at 3pm.
The immediate standout in the Jazz In July programme is veteran pianist Fred Hersch, whose lucid, crystalline playing bears the influence of the legendary Bill Evans. His two-night solo piano gigs will showcase his signature style as a lyric and attentive interpreter of jazz classics.
Contemporary jazz fans will want to check out the other Jazz In July offering, trumpeter Marquis Hill, another Thelonious Monk Competition winner and one of the young leading lights of the current New York jazz scene.
Where: Esplanade Recital Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive
MRT: Esplanade/City Hall
When: Cecile McLorin Salvant And Sullivan Fortner, June 30 and July 1, 8pm; Fred Hersch, July 30, 4 and 7.30pm; Marquis Hill, July 7, 8pm
Admission: From $30.40
Info: str.sg/i3Di; str.sg/i3DS
Movements in Time – Artworks from the National Gallery
Singapore composer Kelly Tang does a Mussorgsky with his new work. Like the Russian composer’s Pictures At An Exhibition, Moments In Time: Artworks From The National Gallery draws inspiration from art by Singaporean artists Chua Mia Tee, Simryn Gill, Eng Tow, Han Sai Por and Sarkasi Said.
Maestro Chan Tze Law will conduct the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra in this world premiere of Movements In Time and child prodigy Mikkel Myer Lee will guest in a solo spot.
This suite is part of a decade-long Music Commissioning Series by the Foundation for The Arts and Social Enterprise, which has been commissioning works inspired by the Utopia Symphony. The latter, originating from a commission by then-Singapore ambassador to the Russian Federation Michael Tay, is written by Russian composer Vladimir Martynov and premiered in Moscow’s famed Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in 2005. This concert will also include a screening of a mini-documentary about the Utopia Symphony.
Where: Esplanade Concert Hall, 1 Esplanade Drive
MRT: City Hall/Esplanade
When: June 24, 2.30 and 7.30pm
Admission: From $28
Info: str.sg/i3WE
Hues of Loss
Singaporean textile artist Agatha “Agy” Lee’s new show features works inspired by the delicate ecosystems of coral reefs.
Fabric remnants worked with hand-stitching and free motion embroidery mimic reef architecture. Visitors can watch a 2m-long soft sculpture reef react to a living environment in Bleached. Other works like Fragile Beauty and Relics imagine man’s impacts on reefs.
The exhibition is made in collaboration with community group Our Singapore Reefs.
Where: aNERDgallery, 29 Perak Road
When: June 17 to 25, Monday to Thursday, noon to 7pm, Friday to Sunday, noon to 8pm
MRT: Rochor
Admission: Free
Info: bit.ly/huesofloss
