Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0053361314026
Label: Heads Up
Manufacturer: Heads Up
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Heads Up
Release Date: 2008-05-20
Studio: Heads Up
MPN: 3140

"Esperanza," bassist/vocalist/composer Esperanza Spalding's debut on Heads Up International, is set for worldwide release on May 20, 2008. Armed with uncanny instrumental chops, a siren voice that spans three languages, and composing and arranging skills that weave together the best elements of the old-school with the progressive, this 23-year-old has crafted a debut album that takes a completely fresh and refreshing approach to jazz by borrowing from the rich traditions of soul, pop, world music and so much more.

Esperanza is joined in the studio by a crew of A-list session players, including flamenco guitar virtuoso Niño Josele, percussionist Jamey Haddad, drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernández, saxophonist Donald Harrison and several other seasoned talents - all of whom collectively serve as further evidence of the kind of creative energy and magnetism that she radiates.

Customer Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!!!
Comment: I can't stop playing this album. Her voice, lyrics, musicality, vibrance and just sheer love of music come through fully in this tour de force! She never leaves her jazz roots while exploring fusion, Brazilian and straight ahead. But it is all so accessible yet complex. We don't get music like this often.
EASILY my choice for New Artist and Album of the Year...Maybe five years...More!!!!!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A breath of fresh air...
Comment: This CD is a promise. There is so much enthusiasm and sheer joy of playing in all the songs on the album that one cannot help but wait for the future releases by Esperanza Spalding. This beautiful artist definitely has a bright one coming. After thousands of albums in this genre that look so similar, finally there is something new to enjoy. Truly a pleasure to listen. And Esperanza's voice is something difficult to forget. Just but the CD, you won't regret it.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Huge New Talent turns Jazz World on Head!
Comment: She's young, gorgeous and immensely talented. Esperanza Spalding's second offering is a musical potpourri that is sure to please most jazz afficionados. A superb bass player, an already highly nuanced vocalist and a promising composer, Esperanza is a triple threat who may very well be one of the key figures in defining the direction jazz will be heading in the 21st century.

There's a ton of variety here, everything from the stunning opening arrangement of Milton Nascimento's folk tinged Ponta De Areia to the sassy smart brazilian funk of She Got to You, the unsentimental poppy sweetness of Precious, not to mention the balls out straight ahead hipness of If that's True, and the tour de force jazz samba, I Adore You. Her scat with bass solo on this tune simply has to heard to be believed. Did I mention that she's not half bad as a lyricist? Is there nothing that this young woman can't do? Apparently not. And the fact that she sings and plays simultaneously and this effortlessly puts her in a class by herself.

Check her out on youtube, especially her performance of Body and Soul at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, not to mention her exuberant performance on Letterman, which prompted the usually cool David to comment, " You were right Paul: She IS the coolest guest we've ever had on this show". And he may very well have been right.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Mega talent !
Comment: Esperanza is the complete talent we've all waited for way too long.
She is the real deal...live and in the studio.The lady has chops !!
This album is without a doubt one of the best I've heard in years.

Carlton Batts
Stage Right Talent

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Quite the talented one!
Comment: I caught Ms. Spalding on the David Letterman show about a month ago. I'd never heard of her, but when I saw her decked out with her afro holding this huge bass all while still looking feminine and dainty, I thought to myself, "This is going to be interesting." And interesting it was indeed. So much so that I actually bought this CD immediately after watching that performance. A month later, her CD is still in my CD player and each time I listen to it, it grows on me even more than the time prior. This young lady is definitely worth listening to!

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