ôChacarera,ö based on the Argentinean rhythm, is full of clattering percussion, zigzagging vocal lines, and fine work from cellist Dave Eggar. (Gil Goldstein collaborated with Spalding on the string arrangements and production.) The opener ôLittle Flyö effectively sets the words of a Walt Whitman poem to music for voice, bass, and string trio. The core unit here ù Spalding, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, keyboardist Leo Genovese, and percussionist Quintino Cinalli ù is joined by a string trio on a number of tracks. 2010Æs Chamber Music Society is a tighter affair and SpaldingÆs vocals, at times wordless, have a sharper sense of purpose. On her 2008 self-titled release, bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding seemed to be gushing with music but at times the results were scattershot. Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American jazz bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer.Label: Heads Up International (a division of Concord Music Group)įormat: MPEG 1 Layer III (mp3), Joint Stereo Her accolades include four Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award.Ī native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding began playing music professionally in her childhood, performing as a violinist in the Chamber Music Society of Oregon at age five. She was later both self-taught and trained on a number of instruments, including guitar and bass. Her proficiency earned her academic scholarships to Portland State University and the Berklee College of Music, both of which she attended, studying music. Spalding released her first album, Junjo, in 2006 on the Spanish label Ayva Musica, after which she signed with the independent American label Heads Up, who released her 2007 self-titled album. Her third studio album, Chamber Music Society (2010), was a commercial success, charting at number 34 on the Billboard 200, and resulting in Spalding winning her first Grammy Award for Best New Artist Spalding was the first jazz artist to win in this category.
She saw further acclaim for her fourth release, Radio Music Society (2012), which earned the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album, as well as the track "City of Roses" winning for Best Arrangement, Instrument and Vocals.Īfter spending the following several years performing as a supporting band player, Spalding released her fifth studio album, a funk rock-inspired concept album titled Emily's D+Evolution, co-produced by Tony Visconti, on Concord Records. The following year, she released the album Exposure, which was limited to 7,777 copies. Her subsequent sixth studio record, 12 Little Spells, was released in 2019, and peaked at number one on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums. The album also saw Spalding nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category. In addition to writing and performing music, Spalding has also worked as an instructor, first at the Berklee College of Music, beginning at age 20. In 2017, Spalding was appointed professor of the Practice of Music at Harvard University. 1.5 2016–present: Emily's D+Evolution, Exposure, and 12 Little Spells.ġ.4 2011–2015: Chamber Music Society and Radio Music Society.1.2 2004–2007: Career beginnings, teaching, and Junjo.In 2018, Spalding received an honorary doctorate of music from her alma mater, Berklee College of Music, and served as commencement speaker at the ceremony.Life and career 1984–2003: Early life and education Įsperanza Emily Spalding was born October 18, 1984, in Portland, Oregon, to an African-American father and a mother of Welsh, Native American, and Hispanic descent. She was raised in the King neighborhood of northeast Portland, a neighborhood at that time known for gang violence. Her mother raised Spalding and her brother as a single parent. During her childhood, Spalding suffered from juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and as a result spent much of her elementary school years being home-schooled, though she also attended King Elementary School in northeast Portland. During this period, Spalding found the opportunity to pick up instruction in music by listening to her mother's college professor, who instructed her mother in jazz guitar. Spalding said that she sometimes accompanied her mother to classes, sat listening under the piano, then at home repeated what the teacher had played. Spalding remained in the King neighborhood of Portland until age ten, when she relocated with her family to the suburbs of Portland. Spalding's mother took note of her daughter's musical proclivity when Spalding was able to reproduce Beethoven by ear on the family's piano at a young age. Spalding herself credited watching classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma perform on an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood as an integral part of her childhood, and it inspired her to pursue music. By the time Spalding was five, she had learned to play the violin and began performing professionally with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon.
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