The end of summer marks the birthdays of jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant on August 28, and Itzhak Perlman, who will celebrate on August 31.
At first glance, the two may seem to have little in common aside from serious artistic talent and a Virgo zodiac sign. (A Virgo’s strong work ethic and ability to focus on details no doubt come in handy as a musician!) But they do have some biographical similarities.
Both were attracted to music early on in life. As a young child in Florida, Salvant took up the classical piano at the age of five and joined the Miami Choral Society just three years later. Perlman found his life’s calling at the age of three when he heard a violin concert on the radio and was drawn to the instrument’s sound. (Despite his aptitude for the toy violin his mother bought him, he was rejected from the Shulamit Conservatory for being too small to hold a real version of the stringed instrument.)
Both musicians also have cross-cultural backgrounds. Perlman was born in Tel Aviv and later made his home in the United States, while the French Haitian Salvant moved from Florida to France in her late teens, where she studied at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory and eventually sang with her first band.
Perlman and Salvant each have diverse repertoires. Perlman has ranged beyond the classical music he is most often associated with, performing in other genres including jazz, klezmer, and bluegrass, while Salvant travels across time with music from the 17th to the 21st century, and her own compositions mingle blues and jazz with aspects of folk, baroque, and musical theater.
And, of course, both are widely acclaimed. Salvant’s albums have consistently racked up praise from critics, including DownBeat’s “Jazz Album of the Year” and her music has earned her multiple Grammy Awards as a well as a MacArthur Genius Grant in 2020. Perlman—a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner—received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and has performed at state dinners for Elizabeth II and the White House.
Both will also be playing for the Center for the Arts in April. On the 10th, Salvant will be onstage in a world-premiere performance with Mason Artist-in-Residence Silkroad Ensemble, followed, on April 17, by Perlman, who will appear for a concert with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra.
Tickets for both performances are available on the Center for the Arts website.