INTERVIEW: Esperanza Spalding in Marie Claire

Thursday May 26, 2011

From Marie Claire

Need to Meet: Esperanza Spalding
By: Abigail Pesta

She grew up in a gang-ridden corner of Portland, Oregon, with a single mother who worked several jobs. After a stray bullet flew into a neighbor’s home and killed a child, she started sleeping on the floor. Then Mister Rogers came to the rescue: One day on his show, cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma performed — and Esperanza Spalding was inspired. Her mother enrolled her daughter, then 5 years old, in a free community-band program, and Esperanza tackled the oboe, the clarinet, the violin. By age 15, she was the concertmaster for an Oregon youth orchestra, with a scholarship to a private arts high school. At 20, she graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, while performing as a bassist and singer in bands around town. By 25, she had released three albums. This year, at 26, she became the first solo jazz musician ever to win the Grammy for Best New Artist. She took a break from her tour of Africa and Europe to talk about what’s next.

How many songs are on your iPod?
Too many. It’s not right. It’s like more than I can actually listen to. I like this band Little Dragon now. Earth, Wind & Fire; Jimi Hendrix; Dave Holland — that band is awesome. George Walker; he’s a classical composer. He’s really special. I’ve been listening to his trombone concertos. Jaki Byard. Really beautiful music. Whatever catches my eye. The list goes on and on. Different days command different music. If I really like a record, I’ll keep listening to it. I’m still listening to a record I got in November called Music for the Fifth World. That’s gonna be on there for a while. That’s how it goes.

You’ve complained that when a female jazz artist is good, people say she’s “like a dude.”
People are more used to seeing men who are masters at an instrument than women. When people say, “Oh, she plays like a dude,” it’s usually dudes who are the ones saying it. They’re saying, “Oh, she’s as good as us.” Of course, that’s a stupid statement. It’s totally stereotypical to say, “We have an advantage on this, and if anyone else can do it well, it’s only because they’re like us.” I think more men are starting to learn that this attitude is totally hollow and based in imagination. As more women are involved in music, this kind of thing gets said less and less.

What kinds of music did you listen to as a kid? How did you get into jazz?
Oh, I listened to all kinds of stuff, shoot. A lot of classical music. I loved the oldies station. My mom thought the other stuff wasn’t good for my brain. But I would hang out at friends’ houses and listen to the radio, so I also liked all the stuff that people my age were liking — Janet Jackson, LL Cool J. I was digging that along with the oldies, or what I thought were oldi Motown and British rock bands from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s. Once I picked up the bass, I started listening to jazz. It was like, whoa, things clicked. It started to seem like, oh, this is really something. I could become good at this.

To read more click here

Radio Song (clip)	1:01	Esperanza Spalding
Black Gold	5:17	Esperanza Spalding

[+] open in new window

Watch what's on

*Radio Music Society Trailer
Esperanza Spalding at the Oscars
Black Gold
Esperanza Spalding at the Nobel Prize Ceremony

[+] open in new window

News Archive

IMN - International Music Network