Esperanza Spalding lived up to her hype, which is saying something. “Everyone” is talking about her as being “the next big thing,” “up and coming,” “cool,” etc. She’s played at the White House twice and is about to play for Obama again at the Monk Institute (October 11, I think she said).
Spalding and her band arrived on the Discovery stage about 15 minutes after curtain was supposed to be last night, but once they started playing all my annoyance was forgotten. The band, including keyboards, drums, guitar, and Spalding on bass and vocals, gelled really well, although weren’t quite as telepathic as groups that have been playing together forever. This didn’t detract from the performance at all. As much as my absolute favorite musical experiences involve watching and listening to the ease of masters who have dedicated their lives to their various art forms, hearing really talented newcomers is definitely refreshing.
I don’t actually know what songs she played other than “Wild is the Wind,” which was a nod to Nina Simone’s version of the song (which I absolutely love). Spalding’s interpretation of this song was light on lyrics and heavy on improvisation, which she does brilliantly. Both vocally and on her bass, her improv is unique, interesting, and melodic enough that a listener doesn’t lose sight of the song being performed.
Spalding has the ability to connect with an audience that makes performances great, and I thoroughly enjoyed the show last night. (Except for one jarring moment in the second half when the keyboardist turned from the piano to some kind of electric thing and proceeded to make lots of noise.) She has clearly immersed herself in the jazz canon and taken the best of what history has to offer while making her own music. This is particularly cool because she’s not striving to be different at the expense of listenability, she just seems to have the talent and work ethic to understand what those in the jazz world might want to hear right now.
