Cécile McLorin Salvant: Book of Ayres

Exploring the roots of jazz, blues, folk, theatre, and even baroque music, Cécile McLorin Salvant is a musical storyteller and curator, unearthing forgotten songs and overlooked stories, giving them a new life. She is drawn to songs and stories that have been forgotten, instruments that have fallen out of use, and languages and performance styles on the brink of extinction.

In Book of Ayres, the three-time Grammy Award-winner brings together top improvising musicians from different worlds: early music, jazz, folk and electronic. Synthesizers and percussion meet with flute and harpsichord, creating a colourful backdrop for a new type of folk song. Stories feature from different tongues across eras and borders, blending early music and vaudeville, Sappho and folkloric material of Europe and the Americas. New material written by Cécile will also appear for the first time as part of this UK premiere.

Part of Unfinished Revolutions, a season tracing the living legacy of 1776.