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Esperanza Spalding started playing in Portland jazz clubs when she was a teenager. Now, she's 25 and has been named the official ambassador of the Portland Jazz Festival. Spalding has a slew of fans outside her hometown, including President Obama. He invited her to play at the White House last year, where she was introduced as "the brightest young star on the jazz horizon."
Spalding tried quite a few instruments before settling on the upright bass. Though it's taller than she is, Spalding works wonders with the bass and clearly has fun playing it. She just released a new album, which showcases her ability to fuse jazz and classical styles.
Are you a fan of Esperanza Spalding? How did you discover her music? What would you like to ask her?
Tagged as: jazz · music · portland
Photo credit: Photo provided by Montuno Productions, taken by Sandrine Lee
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Good ear, Penny. Here's the link to the Tiny Desk Concert:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130263930
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I heard of Esperanza a few weeks ago and was happy to hear that Portland was her initial home. Is it necessary or valuable for young jazz musicians to learn the licks of previous jazz masters before attaching modern idioms?
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Who are your musical influences?
Any particular artist's who influenced you to choose the stand up bass?
I love hearing vastly different artists join each other for collaborations. Could you see yourself doing an album with, for example, Cool Nutz or Sleater Kinney?
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Do you have a favorite musician or album that influences your desire to play music? The album that inspired me to play trumpet was Milt Jackson's Sunflower which I heard as a freshman in high school.
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What wonderful music! Does Esperanza know of Flora Purim?
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Do you dream musically and/or verbally? Many of my dreams are sound scapes based on verbal language but I don't recall "hearing" music during dream time.
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What a delightful and intelligent speaker!
And I like her music and voice too.
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I had never heard of Ms. Spalding before your show. Thank you for introducing her to a wider audience. I love her music. And I enjoyed the interview. She showed she is not only a gifted musician but an extraordinary human being.
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Ms. Spalding has been featured in a "Tiny Desk Concert" at NPR recently. You can find it at NPR.org, then follow links to All Songs Considered. The podcast of her visit was released via iTunes on Monday, October 4.
(I've not heard her perform yet, but I thought I had recently heard the name elsewhere, so I thought I would let everyone else know.)