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You Can Never Be Too Magical - Celebrating Esperanza Spalding
by Mary Foster Conklin
This week we feature new releases from vocalists Kat Edmonson, Tamuz Nissim, Maria Schafer and JD Walter with birthday shout outs to pianists Lil Armstrong, Marc Cary and Jutta Hipp, bassist Katie Thiroux, trumpeter Jeannie Tanner, and vocalist Ed Reed, among others. In the first hour, a celebration of Esperanza Spalding's latest Grammy win for Jazz Vocal Recording with a look back over the past decade of her career. Playlist Five Play “Struttin with Some Barbecue" from Live ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding presents: Emily's D+Evolution at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
by Dan Bilawsky
Esperanza Spalding presents: Emily's D+Evolution Tilles Center for the Performing Arts Brookville, NY April 10, 2016 Esperanza Spalding doesn't want anybody to fence her in. She's never said it so bluntly, but she doesn't have to: Her music says it for her. During a seventy-five minute staging of Emily's D+Evolution (Concord, 2016) at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post, Spalding managed to wed the primitive, the progressive, and the poetic ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding: Emily’s D+Evolution
by Mark F. Turner
Singer and bassist Esperanza Spalding has moved effortlessly between genres whether performing with saxophone great Wayne Shorter or releasing projects which have incorporated explorations in chamber and pop music. She's impressed fans with her beautiful vocals and expressive instrumental skills even though questions remain about her musical identity. Is she jazz, pop, or a fringe artist who won't be locked into any genre? The answer to that question has no bearing on Spalding's talent and creativity which ...
Continue ReadingOscar Penas: Music Of Departures And Returns
by Dan Bilawsky
In putting together his fourth album, guitarist Oscar Penas looked to composers he connects with, songs that speak to him, and originals that fit comfortably with the rest. That's the concept here, plain and simple, and the end result is a thirty-eight minute beauty that's alluring and completely accessible. Two different rhythm sections and three guests come and go during these eight tracks, but Penas' presence ties everything together. The first three numbers--a cheery choro featuring clarinetist ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding: Buffalo, NY, April 18, 2012
by Kelly E Schultz
Esperanza Spalding Radio Music SocietyUniversity of Buffalo Center for The Arts/ Esperanza SpauldingBuffalo, NYApril 18, 2012It's always a good day when jazz comes to Buffalo, NY. It's a great day when a Grammy Award-winning jazz artist performs for an intimate crowd at University at Buffalo's Center of the Performing Arts.Esperanza Spalding, Grammy's 2011 Best New Artist (much to the chagrin of Justin Beiber fans), kicked off her Radio Music Society tour earlier this ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding: Radio Music Society
by Mark F. Turner
If there's to be an unofficial ambassador for contemporary jazz then Esperanza Spalding could fit the bill nicely. The young bassist, singer, and composer brings a fresh exuberance marked by prodigious talent; honoring those who have paved the way, yet seeking to pursue her own path. Whether receiving the 2011 Grammy for “Best New Artist" or shining bright at the 2012 Academy Awards , in an unusual yet memorable performance, she's riding a wave of deserved recognition. ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding: Radio Music Society
by Jeff Winbush
When you've been invited to perform for the President of the United States, turned heads as the bass-playing beauty in the Academy Awards house band, toured with Prince and beat out teen dream Justin Bieber for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, you're having a very good run in the spotlight--and it could turn your head. From time-to-time an artist gets dubbed as the new saviour of jazz. Usually this title is handed out by publications with ...
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