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Jazz Articles about Esperanza Spalding
Esperanza Spalding: Chamber Music Society
by Eugene Holley, Jr.
The jazz world hasn't been the same ever since the twenty-something Esperanza Spalding--the Oregon-born, Texas-based bassist/singer/composer/educator--burst on the scene at the change of the century. Her story as a self-taught, home schooled prodigy who graduated from Berklee and became that institution's youngest instructor; who gigged with everybody from Patti Austin and Pat Metheny to Joe Lovano; and who released two critically-acclaimed CDs as a leader (the last one stayed on the Billboard jazz charts for seventy weeks), is already the ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding: Chamber Music Society
by Ernest Barteldes
On the opening track of her much-lauded, self-titled major label debut, Esperanza (Heads Up, 2008 ), bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding covered Milton Nascimento's timeless gem, “Ponta de Areia." Rather than covering another of the singer/composer's tunes on Chamber Music Society, Spalding recruits Nascimento to perform on her own “Apple Blossoms." It's but one example of a highly intriguing set that blends her classical training with jazz, pop and soul tendencies.This might seem to be a risky endeavor, but not ...
Continue ReadingShooting Star: Esperanza Spalding in Paris
by David Miller
Esperanza SpaldingNew MorningParis, FranceNovember 24, 2009 The heavy drumbeat pierced the air, and the sellout crowd, believing the show to have started, slowly put down their drinks and turned to face the stage. It took some longer than others, but soon all realized that Esperanza Spalding, she whose name was on the bill for the evening, had yet to grace the stage. As it turned out, her band was giving her an introduction by way ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding Live at Central Park Summerstage
by Ernest Barteldes
Esperanza Spalding Central Park Summerstage New York, New York June 28, 2009
The Oregon-born bassist and vocalist seems to have found her voice as an entertainer. At least comparing what we saw last Sunday with her performances at the Jazz Standard earlier this year, one could notice that Spalding has developed a fully-fledged stage persona that in turn helped elevate her music to much greater heights.
Casually dressed in jeans and a tan ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding: Esperanza
by AAJ Italy Staff
Ha un nome che è una dichiarazione d'intenti: Esperanza. Ha bruciato le tappe di una carriera che a soli 24 anni può dirsi formidabile. Contrabbassista, insegnante di contrabbasso a 20 anni al Berklee College, ha suonato con Stanley Clarke, Pat Metheny e Joe Lovano, per citare i più grandi. Poi ha pensato di fare da sé. E per il suo esordio, Esperanza, non ha badato a fronzoli. La Heads Up le ha dato credito e “speranza". Niño Josele, James Haddad, ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding: Esperanza
by Woodrow Wilkins
From a guest appearance on Stanley Clarke's The Toys of Men (Heads Up, 2007) to her self-titled debut, Esperanza Spalding is turning heads, and opening lots of ears. After an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, the host called the 23-year-old vocalist/bassist/composer “the coolest guest" he'd ever had. Spalding is indeed cool, having enrolled at Berklee College of Music at 16, and ultimately becoming the institution's youngest professor in its history. She landed gigs with Patti ...
Continue ReadingEsperanza Spalding: Shining and Exploring
by Timothy J. O'Keefe
Fresh off a European tour with George Wein, Esperanza Spalding nestled into the cozy settings of the Regatta bar. Spalding, a former student and instructor at Berklee College of Music, has played numerous venues in Boston. But this occasion was special. May 29, 2008 celebrated the release of her most recent CD, Esperanza, and marked the first time the talented bassist and singer headlined this particular cornerstone on Boston's jazz scene. As Spalding gracefully strolled toward the ...
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