“This new recording is just extraordinary. It’s so engaging,” saxophonist David Sanborn says of Mélusine, the new album from Cécile McLorin Salvant, the guest on his new WBGO podcast, As We Speak. “I think the gravitational pull of the way you ordered the music and how you paced it was really powerful,” he tells Salvant. “And then when I read the story of Mélusine and how that was the organizing principle for all of it, it made it even more astounding to me … Just brilliant.” You can hear their conversation and music from the album here:

Salvant won the Edison Jazz Award in the Netherlands for International Vocalist for Mélusine, released earlier this year on Nonesuch Records. She won the award in the same category last year for her Nonesuch debut album, Ghost Song.

Mélusine is a mix of originals and interpretations of songs dating as far back as the 12th century, mostly sung in French along with Occitan, English, and Haitian Kreyòl. They tell the folk tale of Mélusine, a woman who turns into a half-snake each Saturday after a childhood curse by her mother. "Anyone who thinks they already know the full extent of Cécile McLorin Salvant's artistry should listen to Mélusine without further delay," exclaims Jazzwise. "It's a remarkable recording in several respects. Beautifully recorded, Salvant continues to confound and delight at every turn." You can hear the album and buy it here.

Salvant is in Colombia this coming weekend for the Festival Internacional de Jazz in Bogotá then returns to New York City for a residency at the famed Village Vanguard October 3–8. For all the details, visit nonesuch.com.