Recent Grammy Winner: Esperanza Spalding Serenades USC

Coming off of her Grammy win for Best New Artist, Esperanza Spalding visited USC's Bovard Auditorium to serenade the students and the general public.  While she is well-deserving of the Grammy win, many were shocked by her win.  Justin Bieber (the somewhat "favorite" for the category) fans apparently trashed her Wikipedia page post-win in typical pre-teen rebellion.  However, after hearing her in concert, her win was not that surprising.

Born in 1984, the young artist has been hitting the jazz circuit hard.  She received a full scholarship to Berklee School of Music (the preeminent music school, right up there with Juilliard).  However, this wouldn't be the only time this school has been in her life, she then became the youngest professor at the school at the age of 20.

Now, her music is definitely jazz-y.  With clear jazz techniques of improvisation, solos from all of the members of the band, and scatting, Spalding continues the jazz tradition.  Her combo band in concert included piano, violin, viola, cello, drums, back up singer and of course Spalding on vocals and string bass.    But with her soulful, dreamy voice, the scatting sounded more like a waterfall than abrasive as it sometimes can sound.  And then her string bass acts as a character himself on the stage.  She plays him with dexterity of a professor at a major school of music, but with the emotion of a true artist.  In many ways, she dances with the string bass, swaying side to side with it as though wooing the large instrument.

My stand out favorite songs from her concert was "Apple Blossom"  (from her CD entitled Chamber Music Society) and "Fall In" (from her earlier CD entitled Esperanza).  She is really more emoting these songs then singing them, making jazz accessible to a diverse audience.  Speaking of diverse, she clearly has many cultural influences depicted in her music.  This reminds me of another jazz icon, Miles Davis's amazing record: Sketches of Spain, which uses flamenco influences.  Like Davis, Spalding uses other musical styles (everything from hip hop to soul) to create her unique sound.

And even more special in the jazz community is the fact that Spalding is a bassist.  Usually and more traditionally, instrumental jazz groups generally revolve around a brass instrument.  With such famous jazz musicians as Miles Davis (trumpet), Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), and Charlie "Bird" Parker (saxophone).  Or if not brass, then piano, like famed eccentric Thelonius Monk.  But how many bassist can you name?  That's right, not many.  So, Spalding with her youthful energy and appreciation for her genre really is becoming a stand-out on the jazz scene.  She is definitely the next it-thing in the jazz world, and if the pop/hip hop crazed Grammy's giving top awards to her?  Spalding must be something special indeed.

 Listen to Esperanza Spalding singing "Fall In" here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuKSM5XvFfU&feature=related

Listen to Esperanza Spalding singing various songs here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBZa7-2bG2I