Esperanza Spalding

Introducing Esperanza Spalding

Portland, Oregon-born jazz singer, bassist, and cellist Esperanza Spalding displayed prodigious talents from an early age playing violin with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon. She burst onto America’s jazz music scene with the release of her debut album Junjo in 2006, receiving favorable reviews from the likes of the New York Times’ critic Ben Ratliff. Since then, Spalding has gone on to win multiple Grammys including Best New Artist of 2010—the first jazz musician to be awarded this title—and Best Jazz Vocal Album for 2012’s Radio Music Society. Her fifth studio album, Emily’s D+Evolution, is sung through the alter ego of Emily, Esperanza’s middle name, and has received widespread critical acclaim since its release in March 2016.