Cécile McLorin Salvant was born and raised in Miami, Florida of a French mother and a Haitian father. She started classical piano studies at 5, and began singing in the Miami Choral Society at 8. Cécile performs unique interpretations of unknown and scarcely recorded jazz and blues compositions. She focuses on a theatrical, and sometimes ironic, portrayal of the jazz standard and is just beginning to compose her own instrumental pieces and songs.