Spalding, Esperanza / Junjo
Album: Junjo   Collection:Jazz
Artist:Spalding, Esperanza   Added:Apr 2007
Label:Ayva Music  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2007-05-06 Pull Date: 2007-07-08 Charts: Jazz
Week Ending: Jun 24 Jun 17 Jun 10 Jun 3 May 27 May 20 May 13
Airplays: 1 2 1 2 1 3 1

Recent Airplay
1. Sep 05, 2022: Rebop
Loro
4. Apr 14, 2016: Moonlight Impressions
The Peacocks
2. Mar 12, 2022: Music Casserole
The Peacocks
5. Feb 24, 2016: Home on the Range
The Peacocks
3. Oct 12, 2017: Lucid Lightning Power Hour
The Peacocks
6. Dec 09, 2015: Moonlight Impressions
Mompouana

Album Review
Fo
Reviewed 2007-04-27
ESPERANZA SPALDING – “Junjo”
Ayva Music, 2006

Debut of a really interesting young bassist, with two excellent partners in Francisco Mela (drums) and Aruan Ortiz (piano). Spalding’s secret weapon is her light, sweet voice, and she scats along on most of the tracks. Her bass playing is elastic and twisty (she rarely chooses the obvious note), and the material is great: rich yet low-key modernist tunes that are accessible but of unusual shapes. Recommended!

Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 4, but it’s all good

1. 7:56 – haunting voice/piano melody in a deep-toned little groove; drums tumble like an acrobat (the only recording of this song I’ve ever liked)
2. 5:06 – cute tune with happy, infectious scatting and terrific trio interplay
3. 5:51 – deep-hued Wayne Shorter tune, nice piano/bass chat, no vox
4. 7:51 – voc/piano melody, great trio work, turns hypnotic at the drum solo
5. 3:38 – minimalist vocal/piano duet, a happy Latin melody
6. 5:13 – uptempo Latin scurry with slow breaks, playful piano & vox
7. 4:55 – bass/voc solo, sung in Spanish, like a daydream or a lullaby
8. 6:59 – sneaky tune with some dramatic accents, lots of space in the solos
9. 1:32 – snippet of an improvised scat vocal/drum duet, fades in/out

[ Fo ] 27-Apr-07

Track Listing
1. The Peacocks   5. Perazuan
2. Loro   6. Junjo
3. Humpty Dumpty   7. Cantora De Yala
4. Mompouana   8. Two Bad
  9. Perazela