With Every Breath I Take is a ninth studio album by French-American jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, released on June 26, 2026, by Nonesuch Records. The album marks Salvant's first recording with a full 48-piece orchestra, featuring the Netherland's Metropole Orkest conducted by Jules Buckley. The songs, drawn from the Great American Songbook and musical theater, were newly arranged for the orchestra by composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue.
Background Salvant had performed with orchestras for over a decade and had long intended to make an album of this scale. However, other projects took precedence. The recording of the album was also beset by obstacles; Salvant noted that it took almost four years to bring the project to fruition, from the initial concept to entering the studio.
The album's repertoire comprises a curated selection of standards, show tunes, and a single original composition, "Left Over". Salvant stated that she did not choose the songs "because they are beautiful, but because they are crucial to me". The tracks form a thematic suite centered on longing and complex emotional states.
Salvant explained her choosing the songs for the album: "I think you can hear a song so many times that you stop thinking about what it’s actually saying. The words kind of lose their meaning through overexposure. So I try to infuse meaning into each word again — like I’m telling it for the first time." She also mentioned: "It is a rare opportunity to be able to make an album at this scale, which has been a dream of mine for many years. Darcy James Argue wrote stunning arrangements and the Metropole Orkest, conducted by the extraordinary Jules Buckley, gave these stories a cinematic dimension... I am so incredibly proud to share it."
Reception Peter Quinn of Jazzwise wrote: "With 10 songs reimagined in lush new arrangements by Darcy James Argue and brought to life by the Metropole Orkest under the baton of Jules Buckley, it's an album full of nuance and lyricism, and one of the most hauntingly beautiful things you'll hear this year." Rob Adams of The List stated: "It seems entirely appropriate that there’s a backstory of many years behind the creation of Cécile McLorin Salvant’s first orchestral album. The ten songs that make up With Every Breath I Take all sing with histories of their own: most of them have been in the repertoires of singers for decades. Salvant’s own ‘Left Over’ is the exception, although her singing of it with Darcy James Argue’s superb arranging for the Metropole Orkest puts it on the same level as the others in terms of lived experience."
Track listing
Personnel Credits are adapted from Tidal. Performers, technical personnel, and artwork Cécile McLorin Salvant – vocals, production, creative direction, handwriting Sullivan Fortner – piano, celesta David Wong – bass Kush Abadey – drums Darcy James Argue – production, arrangement, editing Todd Whitelock – engineering, mixing Dirk Overeem – engineering Chris Gold – additional engineering, mastering, editing Mark Wilder – mastering Ben Tonsley – design Kate Sterlin – photography Tom Korkidis – executive production
Orchestra
Metropole Orkest – orchestra Jules Buckley – conductor Mariël Van Den Bos – alto flute, flute David Kweksilber – bass clarinet, clarinet Mathis Kaiser – bass trombone Evert Van Noort – bassoon, contrabassoon Annie Tangberg – cello Emile Visser – cello Gabriel Gonzalez Rodero – cello Jascha Albracht – cello Joel Siepmann – cello Leo Janssen – clarinet Benjamin De Boer – contrabass Florian Lansik – contrabass Esther Van Der Ploeg – English horn Maria Cristina Gonzalez Perez – flute Beate Loonstra – harp Fons Verspaandonk – horn Pieter Hunfeld – horn Vincent Van Wijk – oboe Frank Wardenier – percussion Georgi Tsenov – percussion Nikita Nikolova – percussion Maarten Combrink – trombone Ray Bruinsma – trumpet Rik Mol – trumpet Alex Welch – violin Danna Paternotte – violin David Peijnenborgh – violin Dennis Koenders – violin Ewa Zbyszynska – violin Ian De Jong – violin Iris Schut – violin Jasper VanRosmalen – violin Julia Jowell – violin Kardelen Buruk – violin Laura Kieboom – violin Leonid Nikishin – violin Marta Lemanska – violin Merel Jonker – violin Merel Junge – violin Norman Jansen – violin Pieternel Tils – violin Robert Baba – violin Rodrigo Bauza – violin Ruben Margarita – violin Vera Laporeva – violin Xaquin Carro Cribeiro – violin
References