Back in January, when the phenomenal Portland-raised bassist-vocalist Esperanza Spalding played at Experience Music Project, I said we'd be hearing more from this remarkable young woman.
Boy, are we hearing more. Since the May release of Spalding's major label debut, “Esperanza" (Heads Up), which debuted at No. 3 on the jazz charts and remains there, Spalding has appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman" and “Jimmy Kimmel Live."
To give you an idea of just how rare it is for a jazz player to appear on Letterman, the last time I started writing a story about jazz on TV, I was told the talent booker was not interested in being interviewed because jazz was a “nonissue."
Spalding is clearly breaking barriers, not just for her own career, but for jazz. A perceptive young woman, she understands all too well the retro niche the music has dug for itself. She said in our January interview, “Jazz has been evolving, it's just that most cats are looking in the wrong places for it."
Boy, are we hearing more. Since the May release of Spalding's major label debut, “Esperanza" (Heads Up), which debuted at No. 3 on the jazz charts and remains there, Spalding has appeared on “The Late Show with David Letterman" and “Jimmy Kimmel Live."
To give you an idea of just how rare it is for a jazz player to appear on Letterman, the last time I started writing a story about jazz on TV, I was told the talent booker was not interested in being interviewed because jazz was a “nonissue."
Spalding is clearly breaking barriers, not just for her own career, but for jazz. A perceptive young woman, she understands all too well the retro niche the music has dug for itself. She said in our January interview, “Jazz has been evolving, it's just that most cats are looking in the wrong places for it."
For more information contact All About Jazz.
