Esperanza Spalding: Tiny Desk Concert

Sunday October 03, 2010

From NPR

Esperanza Spalding: Tiny Desk Concert
By Patrick Jarenwattananon

Esperanza Spalding has phenomenal hair. If you meet her in her street clothes, you may not notice it; she keeps it tucked inconspicuously away, miraculously to be honest, under a knit cap. But right before she took the “stage” at NPR Music’s Tiny Desk, she doffed her piece to unveil a massive, overflowing ‘fro. More than one of us wondered from which secret hiding place it all emanated.

Spalding stows a lot of talent in small packages. She’s not a very tall person — diminutive, really — but has made a career of playing the imposing double bass with jazz giants. She sings, too, with a high-pitched but husky flavor, making it easy to wonder how she generates the lung capacity for her acrobatic, high-wire feats. For reference, spend time with the middle tune here, the standard “Midnight Sun.” She goes at it solo, just bass and voice, and generates plenty of horsepower.

But it’s not sheer musical talent that makes her a winning (and bread-winning) performer — after all, there are plenty of chops to go around in jazz. Spalding has a certain poise, a way of engaging a crowd, of controlling a room. It’s usually seen as a large-scale projection, a friendly demeanor greeting a festival or performing arts center crowd of thousands. In this most awkwardly cramped of stages, her deep conviction was a dominant force.

To read the full article, listen to audio, and view video of the performance click here

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
Esperanza Spalding at the Oscars
Black Gold
Esperanza Spalding at the Nobel Prize Ceremony

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