The Desired Effect: Spotlight on Cecile McLorin Salvant, Artistic “Genius”

I first heard this extraordinary singer, a 2020 MacArthur Genius winner at a venue in San Francisco and I was so floored by the timbre of her voice, her choice of lyric and her youth, that I immediately purchased her work so I could listen over and over.  She’s become a staple in the studio; her creativity and color is a perfect match for some of the repetitive work like sawing.  I find that her intonations in time with the flexible hum of the jeweler’s blade.  This article, from 2018, is a lovely introduction to this savant who has been blowing minds now since 2013. Then find your way to a copy of  Dreams and Daggers (or any of her other studio albums) and get ready to dream your dreamiest sighs as you wile away the hours sawing. Or filing. Or polishing. Or just breathing.