EW Catches Up With Esperanza Spalding

Friday December 03, 2010

From Entertainment Weekly

Who is Esperanza Spalding? Jazz singer talks surprise Best New Artist Grammy nomination, being friends with Prince, and more
By: Simon Vozick-Levinson

It was late Wednesday night when Esperanza Spalding‘s cell phone began buzzing. “Everybody and their mother-law started texting me and saying, ‘Oh my God!’” says the jazz bassist-singer, 26. They were congratulating her for scoring a Best New Artist nomination in this year’s Grammy race. “I certainly did not expect to even be considered for that type of nomination, me being a little old jazz musician and everything.”

Spalding is both pleased and bemused by the attention. “I mean, for jazz musicians, usually the recognition comes from your peers,” she says. “If someone that you really respect artistically likes your record, that’s all the award you need. But it is meaningful, and I don’t want to act like it’s nothing, that someone outside of my little jazz circle knows about me and wanted to acknowledge me.”

Her fellow nominees this year are Drake, Justin Bieber, Florence + the Machine, and Mumford & Sons. Although Spalding is only well versed in one of those artists’ music (“I think Drake is really incredible”), she’s no snob. “A lot of musicians who consider themselves intellectual artists sometimes look down their noses at people who have a lot of commercial success,” she notes. “They don’t remember how much really hard work it is to be a commercially successful entertainer. So even if I’m not familiar with their music, I respect their hard work. Now I have to go check them out some more.”

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

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