ESPERANZA SPALDING: Radio Music Society
Heads Up, 2012

POP-JAZZ – Bassist/singer Esperanza Spalding has become a sort of jazz ambassador since her surprise Grammy win for Best New Artist last year. She’s everywhere: on TV, at the White House, headlining festivals. So it’s fitting that this disc is essentially r&b-pop-jazz crossover material, waaay more “pop” than we’d normally add in jazz, but it’s solid stuff, and entirely unique. This disc fits well as a counterpart to her last release, the classically-oriented “Chamber Music Society.” And she’s backed by like a gazillion musicians (from Billy Hart to Q-Tip) in intricate, heavily-produced arrangements. All clean.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 6, 7, 8

1. 6:32 – sweet, delicious, soulful vocals; neo-retro sound with lots of horns
2. 5:35 – oooh: slinky soul vocal with strings, sparkly keys, electric guitar solo
3. 4:34 – bright, strutting tune with twisty vocal lines, many instrumental layers
4. 1:54 – vocal/organ duet, slow and churchy, about false imprisonment
5. 5:16 – positive r&b: an empowering salute to black youth; great duet vocal
6. 4:42 – Stevie Wonder cover: pops and stretches out, Joe Lovano on sax
7. 3:40 – elastic vocal with big band: a bit bluesy, a bit sassy, nice piano
8. 5:50 – floating, dreamy sextet; strong vocal & bass, serious lyrics
9. 6:37 – slick Wayne Shorter fusion: spiky riffs with new lyrics added
10. 4:20 – r&b with a funky Stevie Wonder touch, winding vocal, lots going on
11. 4:35 – bright, sparkling tribute to Portland Oregon (Spalding’s hometown)
12. 4:17 – really nice sound here, electric guitar breaks add a bit of an edge

[ Fo ] - April 2012