Esperanza Spalding is the young bassist and vocalist wunderkund wowing audiences with her fusion of jazz and world music. She debuted to critical acclaim in 2008 with her self-titled release “Esperanza.” Her signature upright bass and puffy fro grabs your attention, but it’s her music that keeps audiences coming back for more.
In an interview, Spalding called her debut the appetizer. On Friday, she’ll give audiences one of the main courses when she performs at the Knight Theater on Friday. Spalding’s Charlotte show opens the 2010 Sunset Jazz Festival, which will be at Marshall Park on Saturday.
Spalding’s new album is “Chamber Music Society.” It pairs Spalding with a small string ensemble and finds her deftly exploring her classical roots. Spalding is a Berkley grad and former faculty member. She’s only 25. Her accomplishments are already impressive, but she says she’s only getting started.
“I haven’t done anything,” she says. “This is just the beginning. I’m just getting a lot of attention.”
Spalding is taking advantage of her moment in the spotlight to push musical boundaries, especially pop music.
“The level of musicianship is really low on pop music,” she said.
There are some artists with incredible voices and charisma and there are some incredible producers, but most settle for a good beat and a hook. Listen to the music of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, she says, they displayed musicianship. Today, there’s the Roots and Andre 3000. More artists could elevate pop music if they would cultivate the art of music instead of focusing on becoming famous and getting people hype about them, Spalding said.
“Don’t just do what will get people to get pay attention. Where can you go with this?” she said. “There’s so much untapped potential in the music world.”
Spalding performs at 8:30 p.m. on Friday at Knight Theater. Jazz in the Park is 2 – 8 p.m. Saturday.
For more information, visit http://www.charlottesunsetfestival.com or call 704-957-9553.
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