"Wanted Something More": music review of Esperanza Spalding
Last Friday night I learned that seeing Esperanza Spalding, the 25-year-old child-prodigy musician singer-songwriter, is a treat to not be missed. Even if you think her style of music - jazz, with other world music influences such as Portuguese and Spanish - may not be your cup of tea, I think you'd be surprised.
The older, medium-sized auditorium where she performed was packed. Esperanza is of both African American and Spanish decent, and the crowd who turned out to see her was a mix of many nationalities. A Brazilian pianist opened for her. He was accompanied by a drummer and guitarist, though clearly it was the ivory notes, up and down and all over the place with astonishing speed and clarity, or melodically slow and candid, which composed the heart of the music. Seeing a live concert always gives me a greater appreciation for the music I hear on a CD or the radio. Also, there is something uncannily fulfilling about gathering someplace with dozens or hundreds of other people, all of them strangers except for the friend or two you may have come with, who have all arrived at that place for the exact same purpose: to hear good music, and see a good show.
When Esperanza walked onstage the crowd began to clap and cheer. She picked her way through the sound equipment, then strode to the double base, with was about double her size. She held the instrument's neck with a practiced, comfortable hand, and said how normally the crowd might get some kind of introduction piece, some explanation about who they were and what they were about, but that instead they were going to jump right in and let "everything sort itself out later". Jump in they did, with an upbeat jazz piece that filled the room and everyone in it with an intoxicating rhythm and beat. From that moment, you knew it was going to be a good show.
Esperanza is a petite girl (or seems so up onstage next to the double bass) with long arms, legs and fingers. However with big hair and a dynamo stage presence, she isn't someone to be passed by. Watching her perform on stage was hypnotizing. Her fingers moved aptly on the double bass, playing it with the same gusto with which she sang. Her voice soared up and down over a wide range of notes. She played, sang, and even danced, moving her head and hips to the music she was making, all the while staying in complete control of the music, and of her mesmerized audience.
One of the best things about seeing a live performance is that you get to truly see how in love with the music the artist is. Esperanza seems to be someone who has music and talent pouring out of her, unstoppable as sunshine through parted clouds. Her performance was so good not only because of her abounding talent but because she is so in love with the music. Watching her playing the double bass, swaying and turning, her voice flying all over the place, her fingers caressing the strings, her arms embracing the instrument, was like watching a kind of very intimate affection, a girl making music, making love with the melody there on the stage in public; a thing that was personal but altogether too beautiful to keep private. With a live show, one also gets to see some of the artist's personality. Between songs Esperanza addressed the crowd in a low voice and short sentences. She was up on a stage but she seemed at ease, as though speaking to a much smaller group of friends and fans who had gathered in a more intimate coffee house setting. After a couple of songs she took off her shoes, "Which means it's time to ..." "Get down!" someone shouted from the crowd, and Esperanza answered with an affirmative nod. "That's right. My girl said it!" she said. A few songs later she put her shoes back on. "There's an exception to every rule," she said, again in that light-hearted way of hers.
At one point there was on stage a pianist, drummer, trombone player, trumpeter, saxophone player, and two backup singers to accompany her and her double bass or the guitar bass she switched to in the latter part of the show. During some songs part of the band would drift off stage, unneeded. At one point it was simply her and her bass in the spotlight. No matter what components made up the music, it was good each time.
After the show, I found myself wondering about someone like Esperanza. She is so talented, so beautiful, so full of charisma; such a combination could be almost dangerous in the wrong person. Yet the girl who took off and put on her shoes onstage and joked about getting rich so she could buy property and clean socks seems so down-to-earth that I could imagine asking her for directions and getting a helpful, genuine answer if I met her on the street. We tend to put artists and celebrities up on these pedestals when they are all just people like you and I. Sure I have friends whose talents I deeply admire, but I'll still ask to borrow a cup of sugar when I need one. We just each have to find our sweet spot; what we are each meant to do in life, with our life. Seeing Esperanza Spalding left me wanting something more. To hear more of her music, and to search deeper in my own life for what I am supposed to be doing with it.
Maybe it is that inspiration wrapped inside music is an artist's greatest gift.
The older, medium-sized auditorium where she performed was packed. Esperanza is of both African American and Spanish decent, and the crowd who turned out to see her was a mix of many nationalities. A Brazilian pianist opened for her. He was accompanied by a drummer and guitarist, though clearly it was the ivory notes, up and down and all over the place with astonishing speed and clarity, or melodically slow and candid, which composed the heart of the music. Seeing a live concert always gives me a greater appreciation for the music I hear on a CD or the radio. Also, there is something uncannily fulfilling about gathering someplace with dozens or hundreds of other people, all of them strangers except for the friend or two you may have come with, who have all arrived at that place for the exact same purpose: to hear good music, and see a good show.
When Esperanza walked onstage the crowd began to clap and cheer. She picked her way through the sound equipment, then strode to the double base, with was about double her size. She held the instrument's neck with a practiced, comfortable hand, and said how normally the crowd might get some kind of introduction piece, some explanation about who they were and what they were about, but that instead they were going to jump right in and let "everything sort itself out later". Jump in they did, with an upbeat jazz piece that filled the room and everyone in it with an intoxicating rhythm and beat. From that moment, you knew it was going to be a good show.
Esperanza is a petite girl (or seems so up onstage next to the double bass) with long arms, legs and fingers. However with big hair and a dynamo stage presence, she isn't someone to be passed by. Watching her perform on stage was hypnotizing. Her fingers moved aptly on the double bass, playing it with the same gusto with which she sang. Her voice soared up and down over a wide range of notes. She played, sang, and even danced, moving her head and hips to the music she was making, all the while staying in complete control of the music, and of her mesmerized audience.
One of the best things about seeing a live performance is that you get to truly see how in love with the music the artist is. Esperanza seems to be someone who has music and talent pouring out of her, unstoppable as sunshine through parted clouds. Her performance was so good not only because of her abounding talent but because she is so in love with the music. Watching her playing the double bass, swaying and turning, her voice flying all over the place, her fingers caressing the strings, her arms embracing the instrument, was like watching a kind of very intimate affection, a girl making music, making love with the melody there on the stage in public; a thing that was personal but altogether too beautiful to keep private. With a live show, one also gets to see some of the artist's personality. Between songs Esperanza addressed the crowd in a low voice and short sentences. She was up on a stage but she seemed at ease, as though speaking to a much smaller group of friends and fans who had gathered in a more intimate coffee house setting. After a couple of songs she took off her shoes, "Which means it's time to ..." "Get down!" someone shouted from the crowd, and Esperanza answered with an affirmative nod. "That's right. My girl said it!" she said. A few songs later she put her shoes back on. "There's an exception to every rule," she said, again in that light-hearted way of hers.
At one point there was on stage a pianist, drummer, trombone player, trumpeter, saxophone player, and two backup singers to accompany her and her double bass or the guitar bass she switched to in the latter part of the show. During some songs part of the band would drift off stage, unneeded. At one point it was simply her and her bass in the spotlight. No matter what components made up the music, it was good each time.
After the show, I found myself wondering about someone like Esperanza. She is so talented, so beautiful, so full of charisma; such a combination could be almost dangerous in the wrong person. Yet the girl who took off and put on her shoes onstage and joked about getting rich so she could buy property and clean socks seems so down-to-earth that I could imagine asking her for directions and getting a helpful, genuine answer if I met her on the street. We tend to put artists and celebrities up on these pedestals when they are all just people like you and I. Sure I have friends whose talents I deeply admire, but I'll still ask to borrow a cup of sugar when I need one. We just each have to find our sweet spot; what we are each meant to do in life, with our life. Seeing Esperanza Spalding left me wanting something more. To hear more of her music, and to search deeper in my own life for what I am supposed to be doing with it.
Maybe it is that inspiration wrapped inside music is an artist's greatest gift.
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