By Tony Ozuna
Contra-bassist,
singer and composer Esperanza Spalding has attracted national attention in the
United States as an up-and-coming jazz star at a time when veteran, major jazz
players are hardly recognized by the mainstream media. Spalding's looks and
charm haven't hurt her quick rise to popularity, but ultimately it is the music
that counts, and Spalding delivers on all expectations.
Born in 1984 in Portland, Oregon, Spalding won the
Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2011, much to the chagrin of fans of teen
pop idol Justin Bieber. As one despondent girl wrote on a YouTube clip of
Spalding: "I'm a 14-year-old girl - diehard Bieber fan. Naturally, I was
devastated when she beat him out for the Grammy. But I have to say, this
actually is good music. Bravo, Esperanza."
Spalding is the first jazz artist to ever win the Best
New Artist Award, but since she is both a sublime singer and an exceptional
bassist, she is already a step ahead of the competition.
As a jazz contra-bassist, Spalding
made her debut in Prague in 2009 with Joe Lovano's group US5. For that show,
the perhaps unintended main attraction was the rare intensity and electricity
between Spalding playing with the group's two drummers, Franciso Mela and Otis
Brown III. Spalding's debut album, Junjo (2006) was recorded as a trio with Mela,
while her follow-up, Esperanza (2008) features more players, including
Brown III on drums.
But
despite the intensity she has with these two drummers, Spalding did not feature
either on her latest recording, Chamber
Music Society (2010).
"Chamber Music Society was inspired by a lot of
classical music, and chamber music in particular, so two drummers won't be
appropriate for this particular mood," Spalding tells The Prague Post.
The title of Chamber
Music Society may be a nod to
the Chamber Music Society of Oregon, an advanced youth orchestra and community
program that loans used instruments to disadvantaged kids. Spalding joined the
society she was a child in Portland, playing violin because cellos weren't
available. By the time she was 15, Spalding had become the orchestra's
concertmaster.
In 2002, Spalding received a full scholarship to study
at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she first met Joe Lovano. After
Spalding graduated, Berklee hired her at the age of 20, making her the youngest
faculty member in the college's history.
Besides being a phenomenal bassist and noted teacher,
Spalding is also a fine singer in Portuguese, English and Spanish, depending on
her feelings.
"I prefer to scat, so it is just spontaneous and
unpredictable," she says. "But I always have the three languages in
my mind. If a song in Spanish motivates me and I can communicate its meaning,
I'll use Spanish. Portuguese is used because of its sound and melodies."
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