rivers of bass
Something cool for a hot day: start with some bass groove, add a little tune, let them go where they will. Sometimes the fewest ingredients yield the most satisfaction. My recommendation on this video: start it at the 1:13 mark and listen, then go back and listen to the beginning interview.
Esperanza Spalding, Cantora de Yala
Esperanza Spalding is another of my “heard it on the radio” discoveries from this past spring. Though she also plays bass guitar from time to time, there’s nothing like the sound of that wood. Much of her stuff has a more dense instrumental mix, but I like the simple mix the best. Like a musical creme brulee.
categories: music
tags: bass, Esperanza Spalding, jazz
posted by boolz at 08:09 pm
Oh my goodness, don’t get me started about Esperanza Spalding. She is one of the most dynamic young new performers on the jazz scene today. She is also the second youngest person to be hired as a professor at the Berklee College of Music here in Boston (she’s 23, Pat Metheny started when he was a teenager).
I was lucky to catch her at the Newport Jazz Festival last year as part of an ensemble with Donald Harrison, Christian Scott, and others. The way she played the upright was just mesmerizing, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
This year she has branched out on her new album to add singing to the mix, and it’s an interesting combination, I must say. She will be at Newport again this year and I look forward to seeing her again.
I’m downloading her CD from Amazon. I need more jazz in my life. Thanks Boolz and LindaT.
Gorgeous. Mesmerizing. Soothing. Wish I had a better adjective.
Wow.
Lovely! Her music makes you feel good about the world.
I missed Esperanza Spalding at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in July - when we made the decision to go south for the holiday and not stay home with the seagulls and the drizzle. Big mistake, obviously. But I just checked her MySpace, and she’s coming here in September. She seems to have quite a tour going on at the moment.
Esperanza completely stole the show at Newport. She sat in with George Wein and the Newport All-Stars and did an exquisite solo bass-vocal rendition of “Midnight Sun”. Later, she played her originals with her own quartet in a smaller tent that was bursting at the seams. She not only has the bass and vocal chops, but, seen live, has the “it” factor in bringing the music across. She was worth the price of the entire two-day pass!