Hope is on the Way

I've picked up a habit when it comes to new music.

For some reason, I get the bulk of new albums all in the space of a week or two. In the past month I've acquired more music than I can process (and won't for some time). It's always a combination of music trading, record store trips, torrents, so on and so forth.

Out of the music that's come in, I'd like to give my own personal shout out to the youngest member of the Berklee School of Music faculty: Esperanza Spalding. I'd never heard of her and she's definitely one to know...

Esperanza and her namesake album feature the young jazz scholar on upright AND vocals and while it's certainly fair to throw her in with the jazz circuit, she's got a lot more world influence, not to mention a hefty dose of R&B. For those Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu fans and others who happen to love Nina Simone and Dianne Reeves, Esperanza has a lot to offer.

What separates the record from other contemporary jazz vocalists (especially those fellas like Jamie Cullum and Peter Cincotti) is the big draw on the R&B I already mentioned and the rhythms that borrow heavily from bossa jazz and even some salsa/meringue. As is customary of the up and coming generations in this country, Esperanza is African-American, Spanish, and Welsh, so it would only make sense that her jazz follows as such, no?

Recommended: a trip to Esperanza's mypsace. Also, her own website, which may offer a better synopsis of her career than yours truly.

Happy Listening.