Esperanza Spalding

The Profile

Esperanza Spalding is an American jazz bassist, singer, and composer from Portland, Oregon, acclaimed for blending jazz with soul, Latin, and chamber elements. She became Berklee College of Music’s youngest instructor at 20 and won the 2011 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

American jazz bassist, vocalist, and composer; youngest Berklee instructor at 20; 2011 Grammy Best New Artist; noted for melding jazz with Latin and chamber textures; albums include Junjo, Esperanza, Chamber Music Society, Radio Music Society, Emily’s D+Evolution, Exposure, 12 Little Spells, and Songwrights Apothecary Lab.

Two reviews praise Esperanza Spalding’s commanding double bass and warm, agile voice. Esperanza is framed as a groove-rich blend of soul, samba, batucada, and jazz. Chamber Music Society gets lauded for intimate chamber textures, Blake’s Little Fly, and standout interpretations like Wild Is the Wind and Inutil Paisagem. There’s light critique of occasional stiffness, but admiration dominates.