2009 has been a blessed year for musician Esperanza Spalding who has recently garnered much attention after being invited by President Obama to perform at the Nobel Prize giving ceremony. Spalding is a 25-year-old bassist/singer songwriter from Oregon who discovered music early on in life. After getting her GED at 16, she enrolled at Portland State University on a music scholarship and eventually ended up at the Berklee College of Music where she then became the youngest faculty member at the age of 20. She released her debut Esperanza in 2008 and has been on an upswing ever since.
No matter what you think you know of jazz, you WILL enjoy listening to the musings of this young woman. There is a passion and swagger in her voice that anyone who loves music that “speaks to the heart” can enjoy. Esperanza (Spanish for “hope”) has not limited herself to English: she also sings in Portuguese and Spanish, a reference to her cultural heritage (her mother is of Welsh, Spanish and Native American ancestry and her father is African American). She’s beautiful, she’s talented, and she’s here to stay.
Click HERE to find Spalding’s music on iTunes.
Here’s Esperanza Spalding performing her song, “Precious”:
peace and love,
b do c
She is one of my favs. I saw her at the Roots Picnic a few years ago and it made me want to pick up my bass again. Then I realized I’d never be as smooth as she is.