Esperanza Spalding Shows Versatility

Monday October 01, 2012

From The Twin Cities Pioneer Press

Music review: Esperanza Spalding shows off her versatility at the State Theatre
By: Dan Emerson

Bassist-composer-vocalist Esperanza Spalding scored a groundbreaking victory last year when she became the first jazz musician to win a Best New Artist Grammy award. But Spalding, who performed with her group Radio Music Society Sunday night, Sept. 30, at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, has emphatically served notice that she doesn’t intend to be confined by generic musical categories like “jazz.”

With her recently released CD “Radio Music Society,” one of the 27-year-old prodigy’s stated missions is to expose deserving jazz musicians to the pop world. The music she played Sunday night certainly is worthy of pop-crossover success, showcasing a developing star whose talents as a composer, arranger, instrumentalist and vocalist invite comparisons to pop music icons like Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder.

A strikingly tall, slender figure under a bushy, untamed afro, Spalding entered stage left thumping on her electric bass, while the 10-piece band warmed up with a rendition of jazzman Thad Jones’ composition “Us.”

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

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Watch what's on

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

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