Customer Reviews

Esperanza

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

She's young, gorgeous and immensely talented. Esperanza Spalding's second offering is a musical potpourri that is sure to please most jazz afficionados. A superb bass player, an already highly nuanced vocalist and a promising composer, Esperanza is a triple threat who may very well be one of the key figures in defining the direction jazz will be heading in the 21st century.

There's a ton of variety here, everything from the stunning opening arrangement of Milton Nascimento's folk tinged Ponta De Areia to the sassy smart brazilian funk of She Got to You, the unsentimental poppy sweetness of Precious, not to mention the balls out straight ahead hipness of If that's True, and the tour de force jazz samba, I Adore You. Her scat with bass solo on this tune simply has to heard to be believed. Did I mention that she's not half bad as a lyricist? Is there nothing that this young woman can't do? Apparently not. And the fact that she sings and plays simultaneously and this effortlessly puts her in a class by herself.

Check her out on youtube, especially her performance of Body and Soul at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, not to mention her exuberant performance on Letterman, which prompted the usually cool David to comment, " You were right Paul: She IS the coolest guest we've ever had on this show". And he may very well have been right.

Spread the word, there's a new lady in town: Esperanza Spalding, and she's bringing her 'A' game to the area of music called Jazz. And what a refreshing brew it is. Using her skills as a bassist, accompanied by her brilliant voice, which can be heard in three languagues (English, Portuguse & Spanish), this her sophomore presentation, is a mature offering for one so young (she's 23)
What I love about this CD is the variety on offer. You have straight on jazz, a samba selection, and a soulful selection, all wrapped into one CD.
The bonus that Ms Spalding has is that along with her skills as a bassist, she has a great voice, that I would imagine, along with her looks, would make her a marketing dream. But she still has to deliver the goods, and she does: form the soulful' I Know that you know', the quiet stormish ' Fall In', the sambaish' I Adore You', and the haunting 'Samba Em Preludio, which I couldn't get out of my head the to name just a few of the highlights of this CD. This is a solid set that should make this young lady a star, if there's any justice in the music world. My CD of the year thus far

So, I bought this highly acclaimed eponymous debut (or, at least, first widely released) c.d., knowing nothing about Esperanza Spalding other than she's this year's favorite jazz flavor. The first cut was the great old Milton Nascimento tune, "Ponte de Areia." I noted: "above average Brazilian jazz-pop; stronger voice than Bebel Gilberto; probably 4 stars."

But this is why you have to listen to an entire c.d., before jumping to conclusions.

As Esperanza expands into jazz-pop ("I Adore You," track 4, and track 7, "Precious"), funk ("Espera", track 10), and freer post-bop ("Mela," track 8, and my favorite on this disc, track 11, "If That's True"), it becomes quite evident that this disc is anything but "above average Brazilian jazz-pop."

But then, Ms. Spalding ends the disc with an absolutely gorgeous "duet," a samba entitled "Samba Preludio," with her on voice and bass, and Pablo Martin on guitar (recorded especially in Spain), and it's as if she has just given us a great big wink.

Esperanza Spalding in fact is not Brazilian. Rather, she was born and raised in Portland, Ore., trained at Berklee, and is the youngest instructor in the history of Berklee. And she's 23 years old.

Quite obviously, this is an eclectic c.d., designed to show off Esperanza's chops. And damn, this chick's got chops! Her vocal range is impressive; but she's one of the finest young bassists in the business. I suspect she'll hit Down Beat's "talent deserving wider recognition" category as a bassist before she does as a vocalist; but she easily could be in both categories very soon.

2008 has been an amazing year for debut c.d.'s. Raya Yarbrough, Hope Waits, Melody Gardot, and Esperanza Spalding have knocked out the most impressive quartet of "debut" recordings I can remember in any one year. While this one is not my favorite of the four, I really think Esperanza Spalding has the most inherent talent of all. I don't see a ceiling on this artist, and hopefully, she'll keep expanding the sky as the years go on. RC

At the age of 15, Esperanza Spalding was playing professionally around Portland, Oregon, and started to build her performance resume as a bassist and vocalist, which included recording and performing for a well-regarded regional fusion outfit, Noise for Pretend.

And what a journey it has been over the past eight years - dropping out of high school, earning a GED and attending a local university, before taking a huge step by traveling cross-country to attend the Berklee College of Music, where she is an alumna and faculty member - to the release of the dozen selections on her debut CD for the Heads Up International label.

While these are group pieces, Spalding, 23, spices up the arrangements with her solid vocal range and steady playing on the upright bass. Her vocals are particularly impressive on Cuerpo y Alma, Love in Time and Samba Em Preludio.

The bouncy I Know You Know and I Adore You highlight the collaborative effort of the musicians, while Mela and If That's True include Spalding's best work on bass.

Spalding has a tremendous future as a group leader on stage and in the studio; she also produced the CD. A follow-up to a 2006 release on a European indie label, Esperanza Spalding is on the fast track to begin making tremendous strides in the jazz world.

Four and a half ENJOYABLE Stars!! A star is born! On her second CD (billed as a debut, but the successful CD Junjo is already out there) Esperanza Spalding, the petite young lady with the spectacular afro hairdo, is revealed as a 23 year-old jazz phenom who is packing a triple whammy: she has a lithe and lovely golden-toned voice; has prodigious, fleet-fingered double bass technique; and produces artful musical compositions and lyrics. And she often uses them simultaneously in a spellbinding manner, sometimes singing in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and in what can only be described as 'Esperanza-ese'. Ms Spaldilng has appeared in DownBeat magazine, performs at jazz festivals, and has played with mentoring heavyweights such as Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, and Joe Lovano. And at age 20 and already an alumna, she was the second youngest faculty member at the prestigious Berklee College of Music (a teenaged Metheny was the youngest).

The 'best of the best' begins with a bouyant version of Milton Nascimento's classic about a place called "Ponta de Areia" (Sand Bridge) built over a repetitive piano-bass figuration with her voice soaring above it all backed by Gretchen Parlato. "Fall In {Love}" and "I Know You Know" show her wonderful ballad and uptempo singing abilities, respectively. "Cuerpo and Alma" (a double-timed Spanish language version of the classic "Body and Soul") based on Ms Spaldings eight-note bass motif is sweetly and poignantly sung featuring a hard-driving Tynerish piano solo by Leo Genovese: and the concept works. And her pizzicato bass playing throughout the CD is very impressive, especially the 'tour de force' "Mela" where she scores big on both bass solo and a soaring, swooping vocal solo. Donald Harrison's sinuous sax, Ambrose Akinmusire's hot trumpet, ace guitarist Niño Josele, the percussive fireworks of Jamey Haddad & "El Negro" Hernandez, Gretchen Parlato's & Theresa Perez' background vocals, and Otis Brown's protean drumming contribute mightily to this excellent session. Esperanza Spalding is a rising jazz star and this recording is Highly Recommended. Four and a half MARVELOUS Stars. (this review is based on an iTunes download.)

I was listening to NPR and heard an interview about this prodigy name Esperanza. What an amazing story. I was compelled to immediately buy this album solely based on her story.

AM I GLAD I DID!

As a bass player I found Cachao Lopez to be my all time favorite, however the freshness of her bass style and contrasting vocal melodies that permeate this disc are a joy to which one can not help but succumb.

The fact that she does these syncopated poly-rhythms on the bass while singing jazzy vocal melodies with challenging jumps in pitch boggles my mind.

She comes to Seattle in June so I'll definitely be at that gig.
Can't wait to see her live.

Bassist-singer Esperanza Spalding's self-titled CD starts like a warm breeze. "Ponta de Areia", like many of the songs, has a playful spirit. The music (on all songs) is both accessible and musical. I didn't figure out the chords to any of the songs or anything, but they combine pop accessibility with jazz depth. Esperanza sings both in Portuguese and wordlessly on this tune. "I Know You Know" is the first of the English songs about relationships. Her lyric-writing isn't as deep as the music, but has some good lyrical phrases. "I Know You Know" has a deeper funk feel. "Fall In" is a duet with pianist Leo Genovese. "I Adore You" starts with Esperanza and backup singers singing wordlessly, and this turns into a group improvisation, including scatting with the bass and some unfettered piano throughout. It, along with "Body And Soul," forms the heart of the CD. "Cuerpo y Alma (Body & Soul)" sounds nothing like the other versions I've heard. Part of it is the Portuguese, the other part is that the music fits with the rest of the CD. "She Got To You" has my favorite lyrics, where Esperanza laments the loss of a boyfriend to a different girl, but the breeziness of the song makes it seem like she wasn't too upset about it. "Mela" has Ambrose Akinmusire guesting on trumpet. "Love In Time" is a more traditional-sounding jazz ballad, though the bass solo isn't typical. Spalding's bass is very good, she plays with a melodic virtuosity. "Espera" is back to the style of the CD, though at slower tempo. "If That's True" is another instrumental, and it has the core bass-piano-drums augmented by Akinmusire and Donald Harrison on sax. It's a fiery swinger, and like most of the songs, was written by Spalding. "Samba Em Preludio" is another duet, this time with Nino Josele on guitar.

If popular tastes in music were more musical (think about Bach vs. the Foo Fighters, or Ellington vs. Young Jeezy), this CD would be playing from every every radio in America. Since it's catchy and fun, you might think it's lightweight or a sell-out, but it's too musical to let those sorts of accusations stick. Why do I give it four stars and not five? I think a more mature-sounding CD would be a classic, especially if the instrumental parts were more Binney-esque or Mingus-ian. She has the talent, it's just a matter of time.

If you're a jazz fan, get this CD and make sure you see her live. I can't put it any simpler.

Having seen Esperanza live several times, I had some very high expectations for this CD. They were certainly met, and I'll be listening to this CD quite a bit.

Admittedly, I don't have the easiest time catching the vocals in most songs, but that's fine by me because the tunes on here are wonderful. There's a wonderful feel to every song, and often you can pick up her bass as much as her vocals, and that's even when pianist Leo Genovese is shining like he does for most of this CD. In fact, her vocals are very prominent on "I Know You Know", and that's not among my favorites on this CD, although it's hard to say any songs really stand out. They're just all so good.

I heard an NPR interview with Esparanza Spaulding on my way to work one morning and I knew immediately what to suggest as a Father's Day gift, (even though Father's Day was six weeks off and her self-titled album was not due to be released for three more weeks). When it arrived it did not disappoint. Her vocals (Ponta de Areia, Cuerpo y Alma--Body and Soul en espanol) are breathless ascents up the grand scale, all the while her inventive and imaginative bass line keeps the whole ensemble in motion. No less an authority than Paul Shaffer announced her appearance on the Late Show as the coolest act they had hosted since coming to CBS, and after she completed her set Dave Letterman topped him with, "This is the coolest act we have EVER had on our show!" Get this album! She delights in every respect. This young tiny woman can educate a whole generation in the genre of authentic jazz in world saturated by elevator approximations of the art form

Having never heard of Esperanza Spalding prior to the Grammy Award Broadcast on February 13, 2011, I was curious. Once I visited her website, I decided she was certainly worth a listen. This CD, released earlier than her current "Chamber Music Society" CD, shows a very talented and very young jazz bassist and singer. Cool, accessible, upbeat jazz performed by a cool, accessible, and upbeat artist. I am now looking forward to listening to "Chamber Music Society."