Five-time Grammy Award winner Esperanza Spalding, or simply esperanza, played QPAC this week as part of Brisbane International Jazz Festival, having first toured Australia in 2015 playing at Sydney's fantastic Vivid.
The Brisbane International Jazz Festival was headlined last week by Herbie Hancock (at 84 he is still incredible!), with esperanza tonight (22 October) promising an evening of beautiful, often light, jazz music much of it focussed on Brazilian jazz as a style.After recently turning 40, esperanza has already lived an incredibly full musical life as a bass player, a vocalist, a composer, and importantly as an educator.
Her background is one demonstrating a deep passion for music from age five, starting with the violin, then moving to the bass at fifteen as she started to explore jazz and her own musical style.
Spalding has talked of her love of the bass in that it allows her to immediately play with any musician, amongst whom have been Prince and Stevie Wonder. She shows a deep respect for these musicians and others as is apparent from her latest work with Brazilian jazz singer, Milton Nascimento.
These collaborations have led to Spalding being asked to perform for US presidents, yet she seems to see her educational work as an equally important calling in her life of music. The shift to bass was also important as she feels it really broadened her ability to improvise, a key feature of jazz music, and a feature defining her own approach.
As a composer and singer, she first came to attention with her 2006 album 'Junjo'. Self-titled 'Esperanza' followed, these two early albums showcasing the Brazilian jazz style in particular.
For me, it was the next three albums which really cemented her style, creating a much more sophisticated sound. 'Chamber Music Society' from 2010 was the album for which she won the Best New Artist Grammy, in the process beating out the likes of Justin Bieber and Drake (the latter still complains about the unfairness of this in his latest work!).
Along with four subsequent Grammy Awards wins (typically for Best Jazz Vocal Album), and a number of other Grammy nominations, Esperanza has taken out a range of other awards, all the while teaching at a very high level in various forms.
As would be expected by such a highly credentialed musician as Spalding, she is touring with an impressive and high calibre crew. Guitarist Matthew Stevens has played with Spalding for some years, having also toured with a number of leading jazz and R&B acts, and is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music.
Eric Doom plays drums, and is also a previous acquaintance of both artists from Berklee. Two highly trained dancers, Tashae Udo and Kaylin Horgan, round out the impressive entourage.
Image © Bill Prendergast
As soon as Spalding hits the stage, the audience is stunned by the visual impact, and she moves into an opening improvisation, singing while playing the double bass. She then moves to the piano for '12 Little Spells (thoracic spine)', for which she is joined onstage by the two dancers. It's an incredible piece, with the lovely piano beautifully timed with the free-form dance of Udo and Horgan.
The upbeat 'Dancing The Animal' follows, and we notice how her voice is carrying perfectly throughout the QPAC venue. At this point, we can also appreciate the amazing drum work of Doom. This is not fast and loud playing, it is very subtle, but at no time is he playing anything uninteresting. He matches the dancers' movement, and we can hear the intricacies in his playing, even to the extent that he seems at points to be playing two separate pieces in different time signatures.
Spalding communicates freely with the crowd, and the whole venue is sprayed with fluorescent coloured light for the next piece, 'Thang'; the dancers join again on stage, and are met with some crazy hip bumping and low dancing by Spalding, singing throughout the dance, her voice sounding as smooth as honey.
Image © Bill Prendergast
'I Know You Know' is probably the best known piece of the evening, welcomed by the appreciative crowd. Spalding makes musical space for guitarist Stevens with her back to the audience, as they appreciate his deft work; but at all times, we can see her left hand moving up and down the neck of the five-string fretless bass guitar, never resting.
After an earlier piece featuring Doom on drums and the dancers, we are now treated to Stevens in the same format. His playing is out of this world, really like something unheard before, yet not relying on gimmicks from a tricked-up guitar as he looks to be playing a standard Fender instrument.
Spalding dedicates the final song to those "who keep the knowledge and wisdom of our ancestors alive"; it is 'Black Gold'. Finally the one prop on the stage is revealed to be a huge disco ball, and there are a dozen spotlights directed right onto the ball, giving off a shimmering light across the stage and audience. The dancers both join Spalding on vocals for this great piece, and it works just as well without the brass accompaniment.
For the encore, the artists sit on the floor in front of Spalding seated at the piano, only one visual prop having been added, a lamp which sits atop the piano. The piece is 'Formwela 4', the instrumentation being acoustic guitar, a small drum played by Doom's left hand and apparently an egg-shaker in his right hand. It's a totally different visual effect, but again pulled off to perfection in a subtle windup, ahead of a second and final encore.
Image © Bill Prendergast
This was a perfect evening of jazz. From my own perspective, I felt tonight's music leant away from the Brazil jazz style for which she initially became known; and that was a positive.
I felt the music played this evening was of an even higher standard, allowing improvisation, and to subtly display the incredible talents of Spalding and the accompanying musicians, at all times fitting perfectly with the dance.
This was the best show I have seen in 2024, and does not require a detailed knowledge of Spalding's music to enjoy. Visually perfect, with stunning music, it would be very hard to beat. She is a musician not to be missed, providing a show replete with the modern, mixed with a deep respect for more classical forms of jazz.
More photos from the concert.
