Esperanza Spalding

Esperanza Spalding (born 1984 in Portland, Oregon) is an American jazz bassist and singer.Spalding was raised by her mother, who had nearly become a touring singer as well. Her mother signed her up for music classes early; Spalding played the violin, oboe, and clarinet before picking up the bass in high school. Spalding first attended the Portland public schools and later left to be homeschooled, but returned at 15. She had originally played the violin but switched to the double bass in high school when "bored musically"; she picked up the instrument in her high school music classroom and immediately began improvising on it. After a year at high school, Spalding left again to attend Portland State University and completed her bachelor's degree in three years. Almost immediately after graduation, she was hired by Berklee College of Music, becoming one of the youngest professors in the institution's history. She also toured in collaboration with other musicians including her former Berklee teacher Joe Lovano and mentor Pat Metheny. After this series of tours, Spalding released her first album, Junjo, in 2006 and her second, Esperanza, in 2008.Spalding cites jazz bassists Ron Carter and Dave Holland as important influences on her music; Carter for the "orchestration" of his playing and Holland for the way his compositional method complements his personal style. She has described the saxophone player Wayne Shorter as "one of my musical heroes". She has also noted her preference for the music of Brazil, a factor that has come across in her recordings.

Esperanza Spalding nació en el año 1984 en un suburbio próximo a la ciudad de Portland en el estado americano de Oregon. Finaliza sus estudios de High School cuando tiene 16 años y posteriormente se gradua por la Berklee College Of Music, de la que se convierte en la profesora más joven de esta prestigiosa institución. Su ingreso en la Berklee College Of Music fué gracias a la recaudación económica de sus amigos y también fans que organizaron una serie de conciertos benéficos en favor de Esperanza Spalding al carecer ésta de medios. Su talento musical ha sido reconocido por artistas de la talla de Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, Herbie Hancock o Patti Austin por citar a algunos artistas con los que ha grabado producciones musicales. Esperanza Spalding a parte de músico es también cantante y compositora. Su primer trabajo discográfico se tituló “Junjo“. Inicialmente y desde muy joven empezó a tocar el violín, pero los consejos de un profesor de música hicieron que se fijara en el bajo como instrumento al que se dedicaría profesionalmente. La joven bajista tiene una técnica y un dominio sobre el instrumento que hace que sus apariciones sobre un escenario sean espectaculares, no olvidando tampoco la forma tan especial que tiene de cantar e interpretar. En su primer trabajo se acompaña de músicos de origen cubano aportando éstos esos rítmos y sonidos latinos tan característicos del Caribe

Web Side: http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/